


Asgard's Pawn

by Gyoro_and_Ururun



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Humour, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2018-05-09 06:39:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 34,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5529680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gyoro_and_Ururun/pseuds/Gyoro_and_Ururun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thor knows that if Loki goes to prison after his antics on Midgard, he will lose his brother forever. Fortunately, he remembered a clause in the laws of Asgard that meant that any prisoner could get one year to make amends before their sentence is re-evaluated if he or she were wed or engaged.</p><p>So he took a leaf out of Loki's book and lied to his father, that Loki was engaged. </p><p>Now he just had to convince his unwitting bride...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Silvertongue, Goldentongue?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Faellen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faellen/gifts).



> Hello all! Merry Christmas/happy holidays/happy December!
> 
> I know I have loads of fanfics to update, but this is a Christmas present to my good friend Faellen. I really hope you like this!
> 
> I hope everyone has a good day, if you celebrate Christmas or if it's simply another day, either way, I hope it's wonderful.
> 
> This will quite possibly be a slow burn fic, I'll tag it once I'm more certain. xD Also, as with a few of my fics, I can't guarantee the rating won't go up (though I don't write anything explicit!) I will warn you, though, so don't worry. x]
> 
> And yes, making up really weird Asgardian laws ftw. xD
> 
> Enjoy!

Thor walked with Loki through Asgard and into the palace, unable to bear the thought of what was to come. He knew his brother was still in there, but unfortunately there was little that could save him now. Their father had to uphold the law of Asgard and it did not matter that the criminals were his own children, in this case, his youngest son. He had never questioned the laws before now, but while his own actions had brought him banishment, he wasn’t sure Loki’s would warrant the same. The journey into the throne room was a long one and when they were finally there, Loki locked up in chains held by the guards, Thor stayed by his side.

"Thor, if you would—" Odin started.

"No. I will stand by my brother and I will defend him. You see, on Midgard they have what is called lawyers. One will defend the accused and one will provide the offence," Thor explained, his voice loud and clear.

He thought he saw a smile on his mother’s face.

"Yes, but we are of Asgard and as such we do this the Asgardian way!" Odin said, angrily, though he did not raise his voice.

Thor merely folded his arms. "If you would prefer to send me to the dungeons, then by all means, try," Thor said.

He looked around, but none of the guards seemed willing to try. He smiled up at his father.

"Very well," Odin sighed. "Loki, you have committed crimes against both Jotunheim and Midgard, the latter of which is defenceless. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Midgard is hardly _defenceless_ , now, is it? I am here, am I not?" Loki said after Thor removed the muzzle.

"Loki," Thor hissed. "Now is not the time for your smart mouth."

Loki shrugged, still staring up at Odin with hatred in his eyes. "What will it be, the axe?" Loki spat.

"It certainly will not, not while I still breathe," Thor growled.

"Yours will not be a death sentence, but it will be a prison sentence. An indefinite one," Odin said.

Thor had to think quickly, realising that they did not have much time. Loki had to speak for himself, but he wasn’t co-operating.

"Loki, I know you were not of your own mind, just—" Thor whispered.

Loki glared at him. "You know nothing, Thor. Why do you continue to stand by me, like we are brothers? _We are not!_ " Loki spat.

But Thor could see the hurt in his eyes, he knew that he was merely trying to push him away. He had seen this before, on a much smaller scale, his use of words far sharper than his knives. Still, Thor had acted foolishly and inconsiderably towards Loki in the past, he knew he was not beyond saving. They just needed time. Time to prove that Loki was still the man he used to be, that there was still love inside his heart. It wouldn’t happen if he was locked up; that would further drive a wedge between them.

Then an idea came to him. It would take some lying, though, but it was necessary.

"Father, I have read every law of Asgard, old and new, and you simply cannot sentence him to a mere prison sentence. Not when he is engaged to be wed," Thor said, firmly.

His parents both looked shocked, their mother more so, and he could feel a questioning gaze from Loki. Thor turned to Loki, making sure to give him a look that told him to play along. A look they had both used when they were up to no good in the past. He smiled then.

"Yes, when Loki visited me during my banishment, he met one of my new friends. Like myself and my Jane, they quickly fell for each other, and Loki asked for her hand, that he could wed her one day when Asgard’s problems had been restored and she agreed. Of course, much has happened since, but it is true love, the wedding is still to happen and you simply cannot imprison him when he has a fiancée. The law states that if the accused is married or to be married, then he is given a year to make amends, to show change, before the sentence is re-evaluated. He is your son, you are the King, you need to abide by the laws, as you said," Thor said, smiling, knowing he was right.

His father knew it too, and his mother could not look prouder. Though he thought that maybe she knew he lied, but he would have to wait for his father’s verdict.

"You both have found love on Midgard…" His father sighed. "What is the name of this mortal that Loki is supposed to be engaged to?"

"Darcy Lewis," Thor responded. _My apologies, Lady Darcy, but I need to save my brother._

His father sat back in his throne, sighing wearily. "Then you are to bring this woman to Asgard, we will assess the situation from there," he said.

"Thank you, father," Thor said.

"For now, Loki will be held in the antechamber," his father said.

Thor glanced at Loki and, while his expression was guarded, he noticed the slight nod from his younger brother. Thor rubbed his beard in a particular manner, their secret code for Loki to open his telepathy up. He might have lied a little when he told Tony it would make him completely powerless.

_What?_

_Loki, you need to act like the mortal I bring here is your fiancée. It shall not be a permanent thing, but if you want your freedom, I suggest you follow my plan._

_Very well._

Loki’s response calmed him some, though he could tell it would not be an easy journey. Now he had to convince Darcy to play along. That would be the difficult part. It was wrong of him to suggest her, to put her name forward and practically force her into something she would likely not want. For he knew his brother’s crimes, had seen his cruelty firsthand, yet he would burden a lovely young lady to be bound in union with him.

Thor took the tesseract from the guard and transported himself to Darcy’s location, which happened to be Tromso, Norway, where his beloved was.

_Here goes._

 

* * *

Darcy couldn’t believe what had happened in New York; she and Jane had watched all the footage, not wanting to, but also not able to peel their eyes away from it. It was devastating and although there wasn’t a single picture of the big cheese, there was mention of it being a Norse God, Loki. Thor’s brother. First he sends C3PO on steroids down to kill them, then he brings an army. If she had the strength of Captain America, she’d punch his lights out if she ever met him. As it was, she would settle for a good taser to the balls.

She didn’t know whether it would work, but it would make her feel better to just _try_.

Of course, Jane had gotten all intense whenever they saw Thor in the footage and Darcy was just plain _mad_ because while he was saving the world, there was a later statement of him returning to Asgard. Jane was sad, but she understood that he had his brother to deal with. Darcy was a little less forgiving; they’d gone for shawarma, for God’s sake! He had no excuse for not popping in and visiting Jane.

She had her coffee cup in her hands when Thor suddenly appeared out of nowhere in a blue stream of light and it caused her to, embarrassingly, yell and throw her cup. Luckily, Thor caught it with ease and set it to the side, not caring that his arm was now covered in coffee. The asshole side of her said it served him right. Jane, of course, went running to him and he held her.

"I have missed you too, Jane, I apologise for my absence. It is a long story, but I have no time for that now. I must apologise again, for I have come to speak urgently with Darcy. I just hope that, should Heimdall be watching, that he say nothing to my father," Thor said.

Darcy frowned at him; why would he be here for her and not Jane? She could see her friend looking puzzled as well, thankfully not giving her any stink eyes.

"Why would you be here for me? I swear to God, that if you’re here to break Jane’s heart, I _will_ kick your ass so hard that the Hulk’s attacks will seem like a poke," Darcy said.

Okay, so she couldn’t _actually_ do that, but the threat was clear.

"No, no…Darcy, oh, how do I even start? I am ashamed, for I did not even take your feelings into account, but you are my friend and the only person I thought I could rely on," Thor said.

"You have Jane?" Darcy said, awkwardly. She didn’t know what he was going on about; had there been something in his shawarma?

"No, no, this is not something I could ask of Jane, I am sorry, Darcy, for I know you are not courting anyone else at this moment," Thor said.

"Hey, I have a very healthy relationship with Ben and Jerry, thank you very much," Darcy said.

Thor frowned then. "Oh. Oh, that is not good—" He started.

"It’s a brand of ice cream, Thor. She’s being facetious," Jane said.

"Oh, I see," Thor said.

He stepped closer to Darcy and knelt down in front of her, his right arm lying across his knee. He wasn’t ditching Jane for her, so what the hell was he up to?

"Darcy, I need to ask you a great favour. It will not go unrewarded, for I will offer whatever I can, including riches, protection…you name it and I will do my best to fulfil it," Thor said, before taking a deep breath. "My brother will go to prison for eternity and I cannot allow that to happen. However, there is a clause in our law that states that if the criminal is engaged or married, he will have one year to show that he is capable of change, to attempt to make amends…"

Darcy had a bad feeling about this.

"I am sorry, Darcy, I…told my father that my brother was engaged, and when he asked who, your name was the first that came to mind," Thor said.

Cold dread spread through her, the very thing she feared would come out of that poptart guzzling black hole that was Thor’s mouth came out and no one could put them back. That was why he was knelt before her, he was both sorry and desperate for her help. What was she to do? She looked over at Jane, but she looked as dumbstruck as she did.

"Do I…do I get time to decide?" Darcy asked.

"I wish I could say yes, Darcy, but I am afraid we do not have much time to waste," Thor said. He looked up then at her, his eyes both guilty and yet pleading. It looked like he struggled between wanting to save his brother and yet not forcing her into this. "I am at a loss, I know that if my brother goes to prison, there is no hope for him. However, I do not want to force you into marrying my brother, whom you only know through his terrible acts. I do promise, however, that you will be generously compensated."

"Is this forever?" Darcy asked.

"A year. However way it works out, the marriage can be ended and you can return to Midgard, and live in comfort. If possible, you may be granted allowance to continue on Asgard if you so wish," Thor said.

Darcy sighed, knowing that she was going to regret this. "Alright. When do we start?" She asked.


	2. Exploration and secret doors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy is left to explore what will probably be her home for the next year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annd another chapter! I am going to be updating my other stories, I promise! I just had some muse for this story to let out. \o/
> 
> Enjoy! Happy new year to all!

 

Darcy felt well and truly nervous; she wasn’t entirely sure why she had accepted such a ridiculous and, quite frankly, crazy request such as Thor’s. Was she dropped on her head as a baby? No amount of money was worth this and that was why she knew it wasn’t the money that made her go along with this. Goddamn stupid sad puppy faced God of being a pain in the ass Thor. He literally had no one else he could trust with such a task. Or maybe there was no one else stupid enough to accept, but she wanted to believe the former.

The journey to Asgard took no time at all; in fact, the blue glowy thing Thor had a hold of took them straight to a large, stone and marble hall where a scary-looking older man sat on the throne, a beautiful woman stood beside him and the man nodded to one of the armoured guards to walk to some door to the side. Darcy stopped when Thor stopped and Jane stood to her other side, which she was grateful for. She needed all the support she could get.

"Father, this is Darcy Lewis, Loki’s betrothed…and on her other side is Jane Foster, my beloved," Thor said.

"And are you to be wed too?" Odin asked.

"Er, no…we’ve only properly known each other for three days—" Jane started.

"Hey," Darcy cut in sharply. Strangely, it felt natural. "What are you implying?"

Jane was stopped from answering by the entrance of her _beloved_. Complete with chains and a muzzle. The guards led him towards the three of them and stopped just a little way away. She guessed she needed to react to him, but to hell if she was going to kiss him. Ew. Instead, she walked up to him and clenched her fist. She couldn’t very well slap him, but she did manage to give him a bit of a whack between the eyebrows with the flick of her fingers.

" _Darcy!_ " Jane uttered.

"What? I can’t exactly slap him in that thing!" Darcy said.

She looked at Loki then, who hadn’t really reacted, though she could swear there was a bit of stink eye in his gaze.

"When I agreed to marry you, I thought you were a good guy, a nice one!" Darcy semi-yelled.

Loki looked at Thor pointedly and the big guy took the muzzle off so that Loki could respond. He looked down at her, small smile on his face and amusement burning in his eyes with a touch of defiance. It made her want to punch him properly.

Then he stepped forward, the chains clinking as they rubbed together in his effort, and he knelt down.

"My apologies, Darcy. I merely wanted to make you a Queen," Loki said.

She slapped him.

She couldn’t help herself; he made her so mad. The deal, Thor’s request…it slipped from her mind as the anger replaced it. Even though he was lying, that this was all a farce, she couldn’t believe he could just _joke_ about the disgusting things he did.

"What is this? Are you truly betrothed or is this some set up…" Odin spoke, his attention directed now at Thor.

"Nay, father—"

"Oh, Odin. You do not remember the battle of Hundanais?" Frigga asked, almost innocently.

And the man _shut up_. Darcy could see him looking a little embarrassed, even.

"We are, uh, engaged, but it’s going to take some time to forgive him. However, I still do want to marry him. I’ll kick his butt into gear," Darcy said.

"Very well. The wedding will take place one month from now, then Loki will have exactly one year to show that he is truly repentant, then we will reconvene to decide whether or not he still deserves his prison sentence. In the meantime, Loki, you will wear a specially grafted cuff that will allow Asgard a peace of mind," Odin said, before hitting the long gold stick thing onto the ground. It made quite a noise.

One thing she knew for sure was that Asgardians were as dramatic as fuck.

The guards slowly released Loki from his chains, placing a golden cuff around his wrist, and took the chains away to wherever they stored that stuff. Odin also told the guards something and they left the hall. Darcy wondered what it was, even if it was a nosy thing. Then she saw Frigga rushing towards them, giving Thor a hug and then Loki, who barely responded. Ungrateful dick.

"Come, let us adjourn to somewhere more private, that we can talk—" Frigga started.

"I would prefer to be alone," Loki said.

Darcy saw a little disappointment on Frigga’s face, but she was quick to cover it up as she cupped his cheek. There really seemed like there would be nothing to stop the love of this mother; Darcy often wondered whether her parents loved her enough to forgive her if _she_ ever became a criminal. Not that she would, but it was always an intriguing question that would never get a true answer.

"At least take Darcy; after everything, she is here to support you. I know I am among those who have hurt you, but I do not believe your beloved is one of them," Frigga said.

Loki let out a sigh, one of those ones from the nose and nodded, looking over at her before offering her his arm.

Okay, time to hope her acting skills were good. She grabbed his arm and poked him in the chest. She kept her composure even when he narrowed his eyes at her out of view of the others.

"You’re not abandoning me right now, mister," Darcy said. "Or you won’t need a glowy blue cube to go flying into space."

Holy crap, he cracked a smile! Well, more like a very small smirk. He took his arm back and instead placed his hand at the small of her back before leading her out of the hall, down some corridors. She didn’t have much time to say goodbye to anyone as she had to keep herself from tripping over in his royal dickness’ presence. Like she was going to give him any reason to laugh at her.

They stopped at a wall and he waved his hand, making a set of double doors, all ornate and fancy like the rest of the palace, appear. He led her up some spiral stone stairs and she kept her face forward and her feet climbing. She _hated_ these kinds of stairs; she felt like she was going to trip and fall. Typical, really, him leading her to somewhere that involved the worst kind of torture.

After what felt like hours of climbing stairs, they reached the top and there stood an even larger set of doors. The handles had a carving of an ouroboros over each of them, which was kind of cool. The doors opened without touch and Loki led her into what must be his bedroom. A lounge, a few couple of doors leading off it, more double doors. They led to a very large bedroom with a four poster bed that was bigger than any she’d ever seen before. To the left of the bed (as she saw it) was a wall that was made completely of glass with curtains to the side and he also had a door set into the glass to the balcony.

To the right of the bed, there was another door. She wandered over there and opened it to find a large bathroom. It was different, though, more stone and marble. The first compartment had a toilet and sink, then there was an archway leading to a very large…bath? It looked a little like a small swimming pool. It was set right into the floor.

Asgardians, or perhaps just Asgardian royalty, really knew how to live. All of her possessions and apartment put together wouldn’t be able to afford just this bathroom.

Darcy turned around and walked back into the bedroom, where Loki lay on his bed with his back against the headboard and pillows. He had a book in his hands.

"So…are we going to talk about this?" Darcy asked.

Loki shrugged, his eyes never leaving the page. It irked her that she was sacrificing the normal (or mostly normal) life she had in order to try and salvage his, but if after a year he wasn’t repenting, well, it was his own fault for being in prison for eternity. She wouldn’t care if he went to prison, just like he didn’t right now at the favour she was doing for him. Well, for Thor. 

"You are such an ungrateful asshole," Darcy muttered.

"Tell me, what has Thor offered you to become my wife for the year?" Loki asked.

She really wanted to smack him again.

"While he did offer me riches, I’m doing it because he’s my friend," Darcy said.

"Hmmm," Loki murmured.

Darcy huffed, unable to stop the sound of frustration. This was going to be a _very_ long year. Honestly, if someone she didn’t know asked her to do this, all the riches in the world wouldn’t make her say yes. While she hadn’t known him for very long, it was long enough to feel the urge to help him. She left the room in the hopes of finding something to do. Then she remembered the other two doors and figured that she would be his wife soon (urgh) so what’s his was hers.

Entering the lounge from the bedroom, she walked to the door on the right. Locked. She walked to the door on the left.

Holy crap on a high tower!

The first section was a study and some sort of potions lab, then she walked through the next door and found the library of her dreams. Every wall was lined with shelves of books, all aside from the archway leading into the room. It was beautiful, elegant…like walking into Beast’s library and she was Belle. Apt comparison, really, considering Loki was something of a beast…except the Beast in the cartoon was far less beastly.

What had she been thinking when she agreed to this ridiculous request of Thor’s?!

Oh well…at least she got to explore Asgard. How often did humans get to visit this place? Not to mention the amount of books that were in this little library. Her mouth almost watered at the mere sight of them, though she wondered whether any of them would be in English. After all, this was another planet, Thor spoke English, sure, as did everyone she had seen so far, but what if their speech just translated into whatever language the person/people they spoke to understood?

That was it, really; Doctor Who had the TARDIS translate everything, so she couldn’t very well assume they actually spoke the same language.

Darcy walked over to one of the shelves and saw a mixture of different books. Wait, this bookcase had some familiar titles on them. _Die unendliche Geschichte_ by Michael Ende, _Tintenherz_ by Cornelia Funke…another bookshelf had _Harry Potter_ by J.K.Rowling, _Artemis Fowl_ by Eoin Colfer…another bookshelf had _Les Misérables_ by Victor Hugo, _Le Petit Prince_ by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry…it went on. In fact, there were a whole load of Earth books here. Arranged by country, it appeared. Unfortunately, she only knew English, German, Farsi and a lot Icelandic, but there was a shed load of those titles she could explore anyway.

She walked over to the other side of the room and that was where the unearthly books came in; there were titles with Norse runes, but she wasn’t completely sure. Then there were some titles with languages that she was very sure did not exist on Earth. It fascinated her to no end. She had grown up wanting to learn every single language in the world, but she’d come to realisation at some point that while she possessed more languages than most people around her, she was still not picking them up quickly enough for that dream to come true. For God’s sake, she’d met someone in their twenties or early thirties that knew seventeen odd languages.

It really put a downer on her dream, but to think…these Asgardians had centuries to learn all these languages. It made her just a little bit envious.

"Having fun?"

Darcy whirled around to find Loki stood there in the doorway, leaning against the frame ever so casually. Urgh, for a few moments she had forgotten how hot he was. She also noticed he was looking a lot better now, so that was some mighty quick healing. Damned Gods and their magic. Where could she get some of that?

"I am, actually. It surprises me, though, that you have some Earth books here, considering you seem to hate us," Darcy said.

He shrugged. "You do not know me, Miss. Lewis," he said.

"Well, we’re gonna be married for, like, a year so we’re going to get to know each other one way or another," Darcy said.

"Not necessarily; it is but an act, after all. All to keep me out of prison; it surprises me that you would betray your own kind for an oaf you barely know, but Thor has always had a way with women. A pity for him that he cannot bed this one," Loki said.

"So Thor was a womaniser? I can’t say I’m surprised," Darcy said. "He is hot, after all."

"I know not what temperature has to do with it, but yes, he has had his fair share of women," Loki said.

Darcy shrugged. "S’long as he doesn’t hurt Jane, doesn’t really matter how many women he’s had; he’s, like, centuries older anyway," she said.

She stared at him then, taking in the ease and confidence of which he held himself. He didn’t seem upset that she had gone snooping, but Darcy supposed that he would have locked the door as he had the other one if he truly didn’t wish for her to come in here. It made her wonder what was in the other room, though; it couldn’t be good if he was hiding it from someone as inconsequential as her, right?

Darcy walked past Loki, back into the lounge and stared at the door. Loki lazily followed her and leant against the door frame to the study/library.

"What’s in here?" Darcy asked.

"It is locked for a reason, I am sure you have worked that out by now," Loki said.

"I hate mysteries. C’mon, I won’t tell anyone. Unless…oh God, you don’t have past wives stored in here, do you?" Darcy asked. 

Loki rolled his eyes, shook his head and walked back into his room, shutting the door hard.

She translated that to: I’m not going to dignify that with an answer.

This was going to be a _very_ long year.


	3. Unpleasant realisations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy realises that she hadn't quite thought this through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has commented and left kudos. <3 I really appreciate them!
> 
> I am still working on my other stories, don't worry! I just write where the muse flows at the moment.

Darcy had spent a number of hours reading a book from Loki’s little library that she could read. She wanted nothing more than to explore Asgard, get out of these chambers, but she had to at least _pretend_ she’s being an upset, but still loving fiancee. Urgh. However, she was saved from this by a knock on the door. She got up and went to open it, but Loki was suddenly _there_ and opening it. Oh yeah, he has magic. Scary ass magic that could turn her into a frog if she pissed him off…or maybe not, she thought as she saw the golden cuff.

"I have been asked to escort the both of you to the banquet hall," a guard spoke.

"Is it casual or formal?" Loki asked.

"Formal," the guard said.

Loki turned to her and suddenly her clothes were now a long purple dress with golden trimmings. Her shoes were flats, thank God, and suddenly she felt just a little like a Princess. Wait. Wait a minute, Thor was a Prince and therefore, even if he was now a black sheep or whatever…Loki was a Prince. Would that make her a Princess soon? Oh that was so surreal, she wasn’t sure she could handle it. She felt a tug on her arm and looked at Loki, who wasn’t looking at her.

She ignored this and walked with him, though she grimaced at the stairs. "You know what, I am not all that hungry," Darcy said.

Darcy felt herself being yanked up into his arms and, while she really didn’t like the idea of holding onto him, she clutched at his shoulder. Hard. He didn’t seem to notice, however. Riiight, Asgardian. Strong against everything. Unless you’re rendered mortal, but even then…she was quite sure Thor could handle someone squeezing even his mortal shoulder hard.

She couldn’t handle a finger being squeezed too hard.

Damn him and his strength. She wasn’t exactly fat, but she wasn’t skinny either and he appeared to carry her like she was just the weight of a feather. She supposed she should be grateful; he _was_ helping her down the stairs, considering they scared the crap out of her. Darcy didn’t exactly _want_ to be helped by him, especially since it was his goddamned rooms that was stationed in such an awkward place.

"Can you, like, do something to make getting to your room easier?" Darcy asked, then hastily added, "Please."

"I will consider it. After all, holding you is such an inconvenience," Loki responded.

She rolled her eyes, but was thankful that he was holding her appropriately; he could have been pervy about it. This year was going to be a long one. One whole year without—

She swallowed and looked up at Loki’s face, which wasn’t looking at her, with sudden horror. When he noticed, his eyebrow rose.

"What is the matter with you, Miss. Lewis?" Loki asked.

Darcy grimaced. "Just how similar are Asgardian traditions to that of old-fashioned Earth’s?" She asked.

"You will have to be a little more specific than that," Loki said. "Midgard has many traditions, many cultures—"

"Shut up, I know that!" Darcy huffed, cheeks tinging red and eyes averted.

"Oh? Do tell me…I do so want to know what is bothering you all of a sudden…" Loki purred.

At least, if voices could purr, she reckoned that was it.

She took a deep breath, still averting her eyes. "Just how similar are wedding traditions? Is, er, you know…" Darcy started.

But Loki just stared at her, though it had seemed that they were at the bottom of the stairs now and he’d stopped, but not let her go.

Darcy huffed. "Consummation. Is—" She spat out.

Realisation dawned on his face and a wide smile broke out on his face. She wanted to smack it off of him.

He carried on walking then, not bothering to put her down. "Consummation is a very important part of the process; it completes the circle of union as you…come together," Loki said.

Darcy blanched. "I’m going to kill Thor," she muttered.

 

* * *

 

 

Darcy had just allowed Loki to carry her to the dining hall or wherever they were going, too mortified that she would have to sleep with Loki in order to carry on this stupid charade that may not even work. Instead, she’d just pretended to be happy in his arms when they passed guards and even entered the hall, which had quite a few guests. Some of whom started whispering.

Apparently she looked tired, because they passed a couple of Asgardians who were chatting.

"How dreadful. Does he not know she is a mere Midgardian? He should really be gentler with her," one of them whispered.

Not quietly enough, though, because even _she_ heard that and urgh. Did it really look like they’d been doing _that_? Or was he putting some magic spell on them? She glared up at Loki.

"Are you doing something with your magic?" Darcy asked.

Loki put her down and put his arm around her waist. "No. People are making assumptions based on your place in my arms and the relaxed expression, I suppose, on your face," Loki said.

Darcy sighed and she saw Thor easily through the crowd, breaking away from Loki to rush over to him.

"Can I talk to you in private?" Darcy asked.

"Yes, of course," Thor said, standing up and leading her to a private chamber off the hall.

Darcy sucked in a breath before glaring at him. "Is it true that in Asgard you have to consummate a marriage?" Darcy asked.

The colour drained from Thor’s face as realisation washed over him. "Ah. I am sorry, Darcy, but it is true…in my bid to save my brother, I did not think—" Thor said.

"No, you did not. Urgh. I am so stupid; why did I ever agree to this?" Darcy muttered.

"Darcy, fear not, I will find a way around this…" Thor said. "I will talk to my brother.

She snorted. "Good luck with that. Loki’s about as helpful as a mosquito," Darcy said.

Thor patted her shoulder before bringing her into a hug; it was comforting, but it was still so much. The thought of sleeping with someone like Loki made her feel squeamish. Had she fantasised just a little about sleeping with an Asgardian? Maybe. She’d maybe thought that Fandral, the blond she’d encountered in Thor’s original time on Earth would be interested in trying something, but now she was stuck with Loki. She couldn’t have that one nighter and instead, there was a big chance she’d literally have to sleep with the enemy.

Darcy moved away from Thor and just left the room. She felt dirty; the very idea of it all was unsettling. However, she quickly fixed her expression so that she wouldn’t let this whole thing fall through. She might not be happy, but she wasn’t going to ruin this for Thor, especially if there _was_ actually a decent guy in Loki. So far he hadn’t really shown it, but it was a little early anyway.

Jane motioned for her to sit with her and she did. Darcy knew what was coming, but it was hardly avoidable.

"Darcy…why didn’t you tell me?" Jane asked.

"Yeah, because _that_ would have gone down well. ‘Oh hi Jane, the man I love went apeshit and tried to kill us.’ I don’t know what got into him, but he’s…he’s gonna get better. He promised," Darcy lied.

What could she really say? She had to make this look real and she wasn’t sure whether Thor was going to keep up the pretence with Jane or let her in on it, but considering Jane didn’t seem to know already suggested the former. Probably just as well, because Jane was a sucky liar. Still, it made her uncomfortable to have to lie.

"I trust you, Darcy. I just—" Jane started, before Darcy stood up again.

"Just hold it, Jane," Darcy said. "There’s something else I need to talk to Thor about."

Darcy walked towards the blonde Asgardian, who had been talking to Fandral, before taking his arm and pulling him back to the private room. Obviously the guy didn’t mind this because she was actually able to do it. She turned to him again.

"You have to tell Jane; I can’t lie to her, she _trusts_ me. Fix this, Thor. And also, I don’t want any money. At all. I’m doing this for you," Darcy said.

Thor nodded, his expression serious. "I understand, Darcy…thank you, I am forever in your debt," Thor said.

"Well, only, like, sixty years or whatever," Darcy said with a chuckle. "You can do all my shopping when I’m too old to walk."

Thor chuckled and she sighed, feeling slightly more at ease. "Is it okay for me to bail dinner?" She asked.

"Unfortunately your presence is expected…the meal is to celebrate you and my brother’s, ah, engagement," Thor said.

"Figures. Okay, better get back before Jane starts getting suspicious," Darcy said.

Darcy walked back out there and noticed that Loki looked rather uncomfortable. She supposed that made two of them. Considering they were engaged, she thought it best to sit next to him. Darcy sat down on his right and she reached towards a pitcher of something with her left hand, but Loki took hold of it instead. She stopped herself from protesting and just gave him a questioning look instead.

He stood up and pulled her gently to her feet. She watched as he placed a ring on her ring finger, and it was beautiful. Her eyes widened as she took in the beautiful silver-like ring with emeralds in it. She stared at it and he gently brought her hand up so he could kiss her knuckles. Even though this was all fake, all just pretence…she was speechless, and didn’t even consider resisting when he wrapped his arms around her and leant down to kiss her softly.

Her magpie mind woke up then and she returned the embrace, kissing him back. Because that was what the situation called for. Darcy could at least be content with the fact that he knew how to act and he knew how to kiss even better. It didn’t feel as icky as she was expecting it to. He pulled away soon enough and, arm around her, they returned to their seats. People were talking all around and she was glad to be seated again.

Jane reached forward and took her hand, looking at her ring with awe.

"That’s gorgeous…that’s not silver, though, is it?" Jane asked.

"No, it is a fusion of diamond and silver. It is laced with all kinds of protective spells, as well, so it should give Darcy some manner of protection," Loki said. "Should I not be around."

"Where did you get it?" Jane asked. "You can’t have just bought it…"

"Of course not; it is an heirloom from my mother’s side. It is many thousands of years old," Loki answered, a little rudely.

But Darcy didn’t care about that…she was wearing something like that?! If he ever got remarried, it would be cheap for the next one to receive this…or had he been married before? It didn’t matter, she couldn’t…

"Loki…I can’t…it’s too precious, what if I lose it?" Darcy asked, faintly.

"I assure you that you will not; there are enchantments to prevent that," Loki said.

Darcy let out a sigh of relief; it was far too stressful to have something so precious on her finger. Odin came in then, though, and started the banquet. There was a lot of great food, some she didn’t recognise, but tried anyway. It was mostly all delicious, and she noticed that all the Asgardians had big appetites, even Loki, though he seemed a lot more refined about it than Thor and Volstagg.

At least the stuff she left was taken care of; Loki just pulled the plate over to him. Maybe she should start calling him Henry Hoover jr. Thor could be Sr. Not sure she wanted to voice that, though; calling a supervillain names? She doubted he had much patience.

It was going to be a _very_ long year and a month.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to clarify that there will be no non-consensual or dubious consensual sex in this fic. I mean, I don't write explicitly anyway, but even so...just letting people know!


	4. Woman to woman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is all too much for Darcy, it all comes crashing down...luckily there is a level-headed lady to help her through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there!
> 
> Thanks for all the comments and kudos, love them. <3 
> 
> I know I have fics I should really be updating before this one and I truly apologise for that wait, some have been waiting a year (I swear it doesn't feel that long!), but I'm working on this fic for Camp NaNo, and thus, an update for you!
> 
> Warning: minor abuse mention. It's in the section below the first line break. 
> 
> Enjoy!

 

The month was speeding away too quickly; one moment she was a normal girl in a relatively normal world, albeit having witnessed and experienced some very, _very_ crazy things, the next thing she was two weeks into her year and a month sentencing as Loki’s betrothed and soon-to-be wife. She’d read about his wives in the mythology and the children…from what Thor had told her, that was all fiction. The one thing she was thankful for, though, was that Thor had fessed up to Jane immediately after Darcy had told him to.

Of course, she kind of regretted it soon afterwards as she had Jane going on and on. Thor was in the dog house for suggesting such a thing. It was then that she realised that Jane actually did like her; Darcy just thought she was her annoying intern, but things had changed. Then when the scientist had tried to give Loki a talk to, he’d remained impassive.

After all that, she told Thor it was better that Jane didn’t know the full extent of the marriage traditions; Darcy thought Jane might just explode, and Thor was only too quick to agree to that.

Darcy spent as much time exploring the palace and being without Loki as she possibly could without looking suspicious. Sometimes alone, sometimes with Jane and/or Thor.

Today, though, she was walking around with Loki. He barely spoke to her unless necessary and she didn’t speak to him likewise. She didn’t really expect anything; he showed no signs of remorse for his actions and did not seem to care either way for whether or not he would go to jail. For some reason, that thought pushed her into a particularly mischievous mood; she heard some voices coming around the corner and decided to grab Loki’s hand.

He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, but she just raised one right back at him. However, he didn’t remove the hand, as he must have been smart enough to know that they had a charade to keep up. As it was, Fandral came around the corner. Whoever he was talking to must have gone another way. She had to admit, she did find Fandral rather handsome.

"Good morning, Lady Darcy, Loki," Fandral said.

Huh, he didn’t even falter with Loki’s name like most people did; kudos to him. She did wonder how each of Thor’s friends got on with the younger brother before the whole Destroyer thing, but she also didn’t really want to ask such questions. The kind that made things awkward, tense and all manner of things. Nope.

"Hey Fandral! Loki was just going to take me somewhere exciting, even though he won’t tell me what that is, cheeky thing," Darcy said, making it up as she went along.

"That _is_ the whole point of a surprise, after all," Loki said and she imagined him giving her an eye roll.

"Sounds exciting. Unfortunately, I have to ruin those plans…our Queen wishes to see you, Darcy, about the dress fitting. Of course, her Majesty is none too impressed by the little time they have to plan the perfect wedding, but what can we do?" Fandral said.

"Can you take me to where she is?" Darcy asked.

 "Of course," Fandral said, holding his arm out for her to take.

They walked along in silence for a few moments before Fandral spoke up.

"I admire you, Lady Darcy, for your undying love for Loki. Many would have simply broken it off, or at least, that is how I see it. I think that is what he needs, someone who can show him the light," Fandral said.

Darcy raised an eyebrow at him. "Aren’t you mad? I mean, his actions nearly killed you, and from what I’ve heard from Sif and—" Darcy started.

Fandral scoffed. " _Sif_ has disliked Loki for years. Only now she has a more legitimate reason to," he said. "Yes, I am not thrilled by his actions and he has a lot to account for. However, I would like to think there is hope, that he could come back from all that. I doubt he will ever be the same, but nothing lasts forever."

Darcy inwardly shrugged; she had to pretend she agreed, but she was only doing this because of Thor. She didn’t really believe that a murderer like him could turn this around. Asgard clearly worked on an entirely different level; he would have been locked up without this Disney second chance. Maybe she still hadn’t really gotten her head around what she had signed herself up for, because she felt like she should be feeling far worse about herself right now. The fact that she was engaged to a psychopath.

"Nah, people change and there’s no way he could be the same again. I blame his dad, of course; dude really fucked him over," Darcy said.

Thor had told her that Loki was adopted, though she felt like there was more to the story, but maybe that was for Loki to tell. Either way, children on Earth didn’t always react well to hearing that they were adopted after eighteen years, never mind however old these Gods were!

"Yes, while Loki’s reaction was far too extreme, he did rather get the, how do you say it, short stick?" Fandral asked.

"Yeah, that’s it! You’re catching on fast!" Darcy grinned.

"I do like to think I am less of a caveman to you Midgardians than the rest," Fandral said. "Though there is no better chameleon than Loki; I dare say he knows all about those little boxes you keep looking forlornly at."

"My phone? Well, duh, Asgard has no signal. I can’t keep in touch with anyone or keep up to date with any news. It’s kinda depressing," Darcy said. "I hope I get to visit even if my troubled fiancé can’t."

"I am sure you will, especially since you will want to bring your family," Fandral said, taking her down another corridor. Did this palace ever end?

"That’s true, I got to go down there to break the news…gosh. They haven’t even met the guy, though of course I told the truth about him…how could I lie like that?" Darcy said with a sigh.

They stopped at an ornate door, though they all were fancy, and Fandral turned to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"It will be alright, Lady Darcy. Just know that you have an ally in me," Fandral said.

"Thanks. Though, you can call me Darcy, you know?" She teased.

He smiled, and there was a hint of a smirk there. "For now, it is best that I do not; I am having a difficult time not trying to steal my friend’s fiancée away, as she is a very pretty thing," Fandral said.

Darcy blushed and then forced herself to shake her head. "Naughty! But thank you, that’s sweet of you. You’re very handsome too, but my heart belongs to Loki, figuratively speaking…no one owns me!" Darcy said.

Fandral took her hand and kissed her knuckles before walking away, a smile on his face. Darcy watched him for a moment, cursing once again that she was stuck with damned Loki when she could have Fandral. She took in a deep breath before letting it out and knocking on the door, which opened barely before she’d finished.

There were a couple of chambermaids there holding the doors open and she nodded to them, stepping inside and looking around. Like other rooms, it was beautifully adorned and looked like it had taken some time to construct it, adorn it with all of its pretty decorations and furniture. She walked further in and spotted the Queen sat on a rather comfy looking couch thing surrounded by various materials.

There was a woman there who was clearly not Asgardian; she wore a rather nice Earth suit, her blonde hair tied up in a ponytail and a clipboard in her arms. She turned to look at Darcy and Darcy realised she was very familiar to her; was that Pepper Potts?!

"Darcy, thank you for coming." Frigga’s voice interrupted her reverie.

Darcy turned to look at the Queen and managed a smile. She curtseyed and stepped closer. "Hey. Hello. Erm, sorry, Your Majesty," she fumbled and then looked at Pepper. "You’re Pepper Potts, right? Um…"

She was left a bit speechless, unsure what to say without sounding like a dumbass or rude.

"Yeah, I am, it’s nice to meet you. I’m here to help with the dress and for general Earth custom knowledge," Pepper said.

Darcy blinked at her. "But…Loki..after all he did, you’re willing to…?" She asked, unable to apparently control her ability to perfectly mimic a fish out of water. A Magikarp being the most appropriate comparison.

Frigga motioned for her to sit down with her and handed her a goblet. Pepper was already sat and Darcy suddenly felt like she was part of a cool little women’s club or something. Would they be bitching about the failings of their other halves? It didn’t seem like something Frigga would do, but surely Pepper had a lot to say about her boyfriend, who was probably quite a handful.

"I know this is all quite confusing for you, Darcy, but I assure you that everything will be okay," Frigga said. She looked over at her chambermaids. "We would like to be left alone for the time being; please go and partake in some sweet things in the kitchen, you have earned it."

The maids left with curtseys and words of gratitude, and Darcy couldn’t help but think Frigga was even more awesome than she’d heard. Of course, they’d talked briefly here and there, but nothing proper like this. She really wanted to know what was going on, though.

"Darcy, first of all, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you are doing for my youngest son; I am in no way condoning his actions, but I do not think all is lost. I know how difficult it must be for you to do such a thing when you will likely dislike, perhaps worse, my son for his actions," Frigga said.

Darcy blinked; did Frigga say what she thought she’d said? No, no, she must be mistaken.

"Come again?" She asked.

"I know you have been asked by my eldest to pretend to be Loki’s beloved, so that he might get a chance to redeem himself," Frigga said patiently. Clearly she was used to this kind of thing, this patience. It radiated off her.

"You know? How do you—? Did Thor tell you?" Darcy asked.

Frigga laughed, before shaking her head. "No, my child. Surprisingly he has kept rather quiet; he was never the best with secrets. But, my dear, there is very little that can be hidden from me; you could say I have a bit of a sixth sense," Frigga said.

Darcy sat there, staring ahead of her unable to think of what to say to that; so Odin was the only one who didn’t know? Of course, he was the only one who _couldn’t_ know, lest Loki be kicked into jail. Probably Thor and herself with him just for deceiving the King, blah blah blah. She was starting to think she needed a lie down or a giant, very strong cocktail or a very big pill or a very big hammer to the head.

"Darcy?" Frigga asked.

She sighed. "Sorry, I just…I don’t know, this is all…I’m not even sure I’m cut out for this, I said yes on a whim, didn’t really think this through," Darcy murmured.

Oh crap, she could feel the tears coming to her now and she tried her best to hide them, but it was no use. She shook, the horrible dread that should have come to her in the beginning filling her up. This was all true, she was really walking down the aisle to marry that monster and-and…she felt a shiver run down her spine. She was going to lose her virginity to some asshole who nearly destroyed New York.

Darcy stood up and swallowed, she knew she was breathing in and out very deeply, her chest felt tight and she couldn’t stay here anymore.

"I have to go; I can’t do this, I c-can’t…" Darcy breathed, before running full-pelt out of the room.

She realised too late that it was very rude of her to just up and ditch the Queen without a word of apology, but she just had to run. She couldn’t do this anymore. Let Thor smite her for ruining his brother’s chance at redemption, she didn’t care, she just _couldn’t do it_.

Darcy didn’t know where she was going, that much was obvious when she bumped into someone and fell backwards. She would have fallen right on her arse had it not been for some very quick reflexes. She breathed in and out deeply before looking up, seeing Loki there.

For a moment she thought she saw concern in his features, but she had probably been imagining it; there was no way he was going to care about her, even if she was doing him a favour. So far he’d mostly ignored her unless they had to put on a show.

She quickly pulled out of his grasp and stepped away, feeling wretched just being near him. Obviously it must have caught up to her, all this. She was repulsed. What had past her been thinking? Clearly not a lot, for she had nearly married this creep.

Darcy thought she heard his voice, but between her fast-beating heart, her shallow breaths and her swimming vision, she couldn’t make it out.

 

* * *

 

Dreams were always strange, but this one was more of a nightmare.

Darcy had let herself into her family home, calling out to her mom and dad, walking into the living room to find her parents looking shocked to see her. Her mom came rushing over to her, screeching and holding onto her tight when she finally grabbed hold of her. She was a little alarmed, in all honesty; what was the big deal?

"Darcy! Darcy, oh, my Darcy! I thought we’d never see you again!" Her mom said, her voice still rather high-pitched.

She blinked; what?

"What do you mean…what’s going on, mom?" Darcy asked.

Her mom looked thunderstruck, like Darcy should know what had happened.

"Darcy…you’ve been gone for a whole year, that—" Her mom said, before catching her words. "—The _King_ , he took you, to be his wife…don’t you remember? What has he done to you? Did he hurt you? Did he—" She cut off, choking on a sob.

Darcy could guess where that was going all too clearly.

And suddenly she saw her arms, she saw herself, covered in bruises.

She didn’t have time to say anything as suddenly she and her family were in some other place and… _he_ was there. Loki, all regal and cold. Just looking at him made her shiver.

"You dare run away? You are mine and only mine, you exist to be my plaything…now your family will play the price," Loki’s voice seemed to echo coldly through the room. Over and over, and she screamed…

 

* * *

 

Darcy woke up with a scream, but soon stopped as she saw she was in a bed. She stared up at the ceiling trying to regulate her breathing as she remembered what was going on, that it must have just been a nightmare. After all, Loki had failed in his takeover, he had been defeated by the Avengers and was now here…

She grimaced, remembering the feelings she had. She didn’t quite feel them quite so strongly now, but it was still there at the edges of her consciousness, ready to take over and drown her again.

Darcy looked to the left side of her and realised she was in an unfamiliar room, because it was quite plain in comparison to Loki’s room.

"Relax, you’re safe. This is a guest room."

She reeled around; to the right of her sat a redheaded woman, dressed in black. It took her a few moments to realise she was one of the Avengers she had seen on the news before she was swept up to Asgard.

The other woman smiled at her. "I’m Natasha Romanoff. You’re Darcy Lewis, right? Thor’s told me a bit about you," she said.

Still, Darcy continued to stare, but Natasha continued to smile, as if she knew something she didn’t. Which was probably right.

"Just take a moment, speak when you feel like it. No one’s forcing anything  here; this is a completely safe zone," Natasha said.

Darcy returned to lying down on her back and stared at the patterned ceiling; even the guest rooms were fancy, apparently. She went through everything that had happened in the last…however long. Talking to Fandral, talking to Frigga and Pepper, bumping into Loki and now, now there was an Avenger at her bedside. She was glad to see another person wearing Earth clothes; Jane had taken to wearing Asgardian stuff, but Darcy couldn’t quite bring herself. Doing that would make this whole thing all too real.

She licked her lips and took a deep breath before letting it out and sitting up. She moved around so that she was facing her guest.

"How did I get here?" Darcy asked.

"Loki. He caught you as you fainted and brought you straight here, to my guest room…" Natasha answered.

Darcy frowned and nodded slowly. "That was…awfully considerate," Darcy said.

Natasha shrugged. "He was the cause of your distress, and apparently I was the obvious choice to go to," she said.

"Jane would fuss, Pepper…I had just run from her and the Queen…oh God, what they must think of me, especially her—" Darcy said, but Natasha cut her off.

"Don’t concern yourself with that. Just think about yourself, and why you want to put yourself through something so clearly distressing," Natasha said, bluntly.

"Because I—" She tried. She repeated the words a few times but nothing came out. The word ‘love’ just wouldn’t come to her.

"The _real_ reason. I know that you’re doing Thor a favour," Natasha said.

"Does _everyone_ know or something?" Darcy asked faintly.

"No. Just myself, Pepper and Jane from Earth. Thor and Frigga of Asgard. Everyone else is oblivious," Natasha replied.

"Wh…how can you be so _calm_ after everything? Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, chastising me or something?" Darcy asked.

Natasha chuckled dryly and shrugged. "The natural reaction would be to call you all kinds of names under the sun, try to talk you out of it or perhaps get you locked up. Probably. I don’t see things as simply black and white. The other Avengers…well, all but Barton are here, mainly to make sure you’re kept safe. There was mixed reactions, of course; Tony laughed at first, thought it was a joke and now he’s just confused and incredulous. Dr. Banner was very quiet, I don’t know what’s going through his mind and, let me tell you, I’m good at reading people. Steve was naturally and not very quietly worried and objecting," Natasha explained.

"Barton was…he was the one mind-controlled, right?" Darcy whispered. She left the second question unsaid, but she had the feeling it didn’t need to be.

"Yeah. He’s gone on a much needed vacation, location classified, of course," Natasha said.

Silence fell between them, but it wasn’t really an awkward one. Darcy wasn’t sure what to say, but she was grateful that the Avengers felt the need to be here to protect her. Though maybe it wasn’t just that.

"Are you guys here on a diplomatic mission too?" Darcy asked.

Natasha smirked. "Very astute, yes. Honestly, I think if Loki can be rehabilitated, then there will be less chance of a repeat. However," she said, before looking at her with sharp eyes. "How do _you_ feel?"

"Me? Well…" Darcy started.

"Honestly, I don’t think you should do it unless you’re willing," Natasha said. "He’ll go to jail and that’s that."

"But…"

"No buts. There are many advantages to what you’re doing, but it involves sacrificing _you_. You have to be willing," Natasha said.

"What would you do in my place?" Darcy asked.

"I’d do it. But then, I’m not adverse to this kind of mission. I’ve learnt about the Asgardian wedding customs and it wouldn’t faze me. It’s a job and I’ve slept with plenty of people to get what I want, to get the mission done," Natasha said matter-of-factly. The idea of sleeping with someone for a mission just didn’t sit well with her; she didn’t think badly of Natasha, but she couldn’t…she couldn’t do it herself. Natasha looked at her then. "But you’re not me, you’re not an agent. Heck, most agents wouldn’t do it, it’s why I volunteer. To do what others won’t."

"You’re so…you’re so _brave_. How do you…I couldn’t even dream of it," Darcy said, then her eyes widened. "Not that it’s a bad thing; you save lives, right? That’s a good outcome."

Natasha smiled. "It’s not really an Agent thing; you could say that I had an _interesting_ upbringing, one that required various unusual talents to be used," she said.

She stood up. "Think over my words. It is not too late to pull out, you don’t have to do it, you won’t have any harsh judgement placed upon you. However, if you decide to carry on, then you must be truly willing to commit. This isn’t something you can go into lightly. Choose wisely," Natasha said. Then she smiled. "Get some rest."

Darcy watched as she walked to the door with all the grace of a beautiful cat, a certain confidence and power in the stride. Darcy was lucky if she didn’t walk like a penguin on most days.

She blinked and lay back in the bed, staring up at the ceiling; this wasn’t going to be easy.


	5. Final decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy makes her final decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Shocking, right? Quick update! :o
> 
> Thanks for all the comments and kudos! :D

Darcy had spent the rest of the day in that room, mulling over her decision and, in that time, she had received a rather delicious meal by one of the servants. She wished she could just stop time so that she could have longer to think about it, but that was a little too fantasy and dreamlike to actually be a thing. She supposed the plus side was that Loki cared just enough to take her to the level-headed Avenger’s room in order to recover; if he was truly terrible, he’d have left her in the corridor, right?

Or maybe a guard or someone else had been on the way and he’d had no other choice but to look like he cared.

That thought made her sigh; she knew she was reading into it all too much and she was expecting more than she would get, but would it kill the bastard to at least show _some_ gratitude? She had offered to save his ass from jail, or at least _try._ After all, he needed to do that whole showing he was willing to repent and blah blah bellyache.

Darcy rubbed at her face, really unsure of herself. She couldn’t talk to Thor or Jane, because she knew what Jane would say and Thor…he would advise that she do what she has to do, even if the puppy dog eyes were sad that she could potentially choose the option to just leave Asgard and never come back. Because that was seriously tempting right now.

She decided that she needed to go for a walk. A long one, way out of the palace. She put her jacket back on, her shoes and left the room. She passed servants, who nodded their head respectfully as she did; though Loki was basically the fallen Prince, they still treated him with respect and, in turn, his bride. Huh. Was that just the fear of God or just genuine politeness? They didn’t seem scared, though. Then again, even the dainty looking Asgardian girls looked like they could kick her across the room. Godly strength, right?

Darcy walked through the streets and heard a bit of a commotion; from what she could gather, a woman's son had gone missing. Apparently even Asgard had its problems. She found the woman and gave her a small, encouraging smile.

"What does your son look like? Maybe I could help…" Darcy said. "Don’t worry, I’m a friend of Thor’s, you can trust me."

The woman looked grateful as she handed her a small portrait of him, one she could fit into her pocket. She looked up at the woman and nodded.

"I’ll take a look; just keep your head high, okay? We’ll find him," Darcy said.

She really hoped they did, she didn’t want to be giving out false promises, but what could she do? The woman was in distress. At any rate, she started walking around, and she found herself close to a forest. Movement caught her eye and she turned to see a familiar figure walk into the forest. She quickly and quietly followed, wondering what Loki was up to…he wasn’t even supposed to be outside of the palace, she didn’t think. She couldn’t actually remember.

She hid behind a tree when she saw that he’d stopped.

"Vyr, you should return to your mother," Loki said softly.

Darcy heard the voice of a young boy, but it was muffled. She looked around the tree and saw that the boy from the portrait was sat up in the tree, looking scared and upset, and Darcy didn’t know why. Then Loki did some magic, pulling the boy from the tree and carefully into his arms, while the boy looked shocked and, perhaps, wondrous. Darcy hid some more behind the tree as Loki passed by and left the forest.

She quietly followed him once the coast was clear and, when she caught up, she saw the mother quickly pull her son from Loki’s arms and step away. Darcy could tell by the look on her face even before she spoke that she didn’t trust him.

"What did you do to him?" She asked, anger in her voice.

"Nothing, I merely found him—" Loki replied.

"Nonsense, after everything you have done!"

"Mama, he really did help me," the boy said.

"My lady, your son…he was frightened. He has a gift, of magic…if—" Loki started.

"Just leave," the woman said.

And he did, suddenly vanishing into thin air, leaving no trace.

Darcy sighed and walked up to the woman, returning her portrait to her. She returned to the palace, thinking that she’d had enough ‘excitement’ for one day and fancied a rest. If it was permitted, for she bumped into Thor and he wrapped his arm around her.

"Darcy! There you are, we have been searching for you! Come, come, it is time that we eat!" Thor said, leading her towards the banquet hall.

So many people were there, as always, but she noticed a few new faces; the Avengers! Steve Rogers was talking to Volstagg, Tony Stark and Pepper were talking to Sif and Natasha, Bruce was there talking to Fandral, Hogun and Jane. It was so strange, all of this. Thor walked with her towards his friends and they all turned to look at her. Natasha smiled, an eyebrow raising. Darcy knew she was wondering what she had decided.

"Friends, this is Darcy Lewis," Thor said jovially, as if she wasn’t engaged to his maniac brother.

Darcy took a deep breath and smiled at everyone, even if it was a little bit forced. "Hey guys…"

"Let us all sit down and eat!" Thor said, clapping her shoulder quite gently for a man with juggernaut hands.

She sat down next to Thor and, seemingly out of nowhere, Natasha sat on her other side. She leant in to speak in her ear.

"So, did you have a think?"

Darcy bit her lip; this was it, wasn’t it? But she already knew her answer. She nodded. "I’m gonna do it," Darcy said.

"You’re sure?"

"Positive," Darcy replied.

She looked over at the redhead to find her smiling. She smiled back and figured she could talk to her in greater detail later. After all, this was all too public an affair.

Darcy saw Queen Frigga walk in and she stood up abruptly, seeing the woman walking towards her, smile and yet concern on her face. She ushered Darcy to sit down and she did, wanting to show her respect in some form. She felt Frigga’s hands on her shoulders.

"Darcy, are you alright? I heard what happened…" Frigga said softly.

"I’m fine, I just…pre-wedding jitters! Haha!" Darcy said nervously. "I’m so sorry for rushing off like that, I was so—"

"It is quite alright, Darcy. I want you to think of me in a more motherly light, not as a Queen. Please refrain from addressing me as Queen or as Your Majesty, we are to be family. And you, Darcy, you are such a sweet girl. Perhaps you will come to me tomorrow, we can carry on where we left off," Frigga said.

Darcy nodded; tomorrow she would get through this without incident. She would be strong, like Natasha. Not that she really _knew_ Natasha, but she did exude a certain air of confidence and strength. She watched as Frigga took a seat on the other side of Natasha, and the two quickly fell into conversation. Darcy relaxed a little, before spotting a smile on Fandral’s face from across the table. He winked at her and she rolled her eyes.

 

* * *

 

Frigga had shown her to a guest room, one she could stay in when she was feeling nervous or the like. She told her that it was not too strange for an engaged couple to spend time apart, especially closer to the wedding, so maybe Darcy would wish to stay there until she was married. The very words sent a little chill through her, but this time there wasn’t the mad urge to flee.

The night went quickly and she soon found herself back in that room with Frigga and Pepper. She had to admit, the idea that only the girls knew about the secret made her inwardly giggle. It turned out that Frigga had the Sight and, well, she had confided in both Pepper and Natasha, who she felt would be a great help for Darcy. Jane was lovely, of course, but she was far too against the idea right now to be of the assistance that was needed right now…

…Which was dress business.

There were no chambermaids this time, just the three females. Frigga did her measurements and they went through the materials, styles she wanted and so on. The subject of yesterday didn’t come up, though she really needed to address it. It was when Frigga left the room that she finally turned to Pepper.

"Pepper…may I ask why you’re so-so _calm_ about all this?" Darcy asked.

"It’s hard to describe, but I guess I just trust Her Majesty’s words," Pepper answered. "They’re calming and soothing. I’m a practical woman, logical, however—"

"I so totally get you, I think Frigga could make inmates cry or something. Okay, maybe not _that_ far, but she has a way about her," Darcy said.

Pepper nodded. "She certainly does. I…Darcy, I don’t know whether this will work, whether it’s the right thing to do,  whether it’s just madness, but I think we’re hoping to at least form a stronger alliance between our planets," she said.

Darcy heaved a huge sigh and flipped through some of the sketches that had been made, ideas for dresses. She was touched that they were allowing her to wear a dress from Earth rather than forcing her into an Asgardian one. She was sure they were nice, but if she was going to get married, then it had better be in something she had been dreaming of wearing. It might not be to the right guy, definitely not, but she’d never considered herself to be a great prospect anyway.

When Frigga came back in, it was all guns blazing and Darcy had managed to pick out a dress. Her eyes nearly popped right out of her skull when she heard how much the dress would be worth, but Frigga assured her that it was nothing for her to worry about; that this was how things worked for them. Of course, they were royal, it was bound to be extravagant. She wondered what it would be like for Jane should she and Thor get married.

"It will be ready quite soon; now, onto the rest of the preparations," Frigga said.

 

* * *

 

Darcy was glad to get away from it all after hours of preparation and whatnot. It turned out that they were going to fetch her parents, older sister and her husband the next day. Part of her was dreading them coming up and all that, but she really wanted to see them. Maybe she would bring a shit ton of ice cream while she was at it. Yeah, a whole big shop.

She slept very well, though the giant and very comfortable bed helped a lot with that. Next thing she knew, she was waiting nervously with Thor and Jane to be blasted down to Earth at the speed of light. Then she just thought about Pokemon and that made her smile. Too bad electronics won’t work up here. Although, she wondered if Thor could power them…then again, he’d probably fry them instead.

They arrived not too far from her family home. Thor flew them the rest of the way and she could see all her neighbours coming out for a nosy when they landed; she wasn’t surprised, Thor was famous on Earth now. She’d be doing the same. She could see her sister’s car on the drive already, so that was a good sign. Darcy left Thor to fend for himself as some of the neighbours approached him while she went straight into her house.

"Mom, dad, Marlene, Joel, I’m here! I hope you’ve packed!" Darcy said.

Darcy walked into the lounge to find her parents hugging her sister and brother-in-law excitedly. She walked closer.

"Hey, what’s going on?" Darcy asked.

Marlene came and hugged her. "Darcy! It’s so good to see you!" She said. "We have some news… _Aunt Darcy_."

Darcy gasped and squealed, jumping up and down with her sister, their words incoherent for a while. When they finally calmed, she just hugged her.

"How far along?" Darcy asked.

"Only a month," Marlene said. "I’m so excited!"

"I am too! Auntie Darcy is going to spoil baby Parks so much! Oh shit! We’re supposed to ride the Bifrost, I’ll have to ask Thor if you’ll be able to!" Darcy said, a sudden panic washing over her.

"Oh gosh, yes. Oh, I hope so. I don’t want to miss my baby sister’s wedding!" Marlene said.

Darcy gestured for them to follow her as she made her way out of the house, finding Thor walking around with a young child on his shoulders, crouched down with Mjolnir held out, a little girl holding onto the handle and pretending she was lifting it up. She put the back of her hand to her mouth, finding it far too adorable for words.

Then she snapped out of it. "Thor!" She said.

Thor put his hammer down and lifted the girl up, carefully in a fireman’s lift. "I have captured these children and will make off with them if you don’t hand over the treasure!" Thor said, making the children giggle.

Darcy shook her head at him and noticed Jane was talking to a couple of little girls.

"Thor, my sister’s one month pregnant…is she safe riding the Bifrost?" Darcy asked.

Thor’s eyes widened and he stepped forward to greet her sister, children still giggling away.

"Congratulations, sister of Darcy! It is wonderful news that you will make Darcy an aunt! But yes, it is quite safe. It might feel rough, but the Bifrost is safe even for those women more heavily blessed," Thor said, jovially.

"Even for humans?" Darcy asked sceptically.

"Of course! You ladies are made of strong stuff," Thor said. He carefully put the little girl down in front of her mother and then the young boy, before kneeling down to talk to them. "You look after each other, okay? The bonds of brothers and sisters are strong, and you should cherish each other."

The children nodded and he stood up, waving to them as they went off to play.

"Wow, you’re surprisingly good with children. Wouldn’t have guessed," Darcy teased him.

Thor laughed. "No, that is fair, I was quite unruly when we met," he said.

He looked at her family. "It is a pleasure to meet all of you, your daughter is a good friend of mine," Thor said. "Are you all ready?"

Once her family had their bags and had locked up, they all stood in the middle of the road, holding hands in a circle. Thor had his arm around Marlene for extra precaution. Darcy didn’t think Marlene minded all that much. And as quick as that, they were in Asgard. Her family looked around in amazement, which was a normal reaction. Heimdall stood there as stoic as ever.

A few of Thor’s friends had come to greet them, which was just as well, since her family were a little bit apprehensive about the bridge. She had been the same, but she was used to it by now. Volstagg walked with her dad, who looked so small now. Sif walked with her brother in law and Fandral walked with her mom, who she heard giggling a little at the way he kissed her hand. Fandral seemed to have that effect on women.

Thor walked with Marlene and she and Jane walked behind him with Hogun close behind.

"Thank God for you guys, Hogun. My mom wouldn’t have stepped foot on that bridge and my dad wouldn’t be far behind," she laughed.

"Her Majesty thought as much, sent us down here," Hogun said, and that was all they got from him. He really was so quiet.

The journey to the palace was pretty uneventful, other than her family’s keen interest in their surroundings. Darcy had to admit, if there was one good thing to come from all of this, it was getting to see Asgard in all its glory. After all, she probably wouldn’t get the chance otherwise. Or maybe she would, she didn’t really know. Either way. She was also glad for the Bifrost to be fixed; somehow travelling via tesseract was strange. She quite enjoyed travelling via Bifrost.

She remembered looking around the palace for the first time (properly, anyway) and she could safely say it was like looking into a mirror as she watched her sister, arm in arm with Joel, peering about in wonder. Asgard didn’t do anything lightly.

"They look like they’re enjoying themselves," Jane said.

"Yeah. It makes me feel slightly less guilty for what I’m putting them through," Darcy said.

Jane squeezed her hand. "You’re doing a brave thing; I know I’ve not been the most supportive person, but…I guess I’m coming around to it."

"I’d feel the same if it were the other way around, I wouldn’t worry about it," Darcy said.

Jane laughed and she joined in. Maybe things would be okay.

 

* * *

 

Over the next two weeks, Darcy barely spoke to Loki apart from the little play-acting they did when necessary. Going for walks, holding hands and laughing. The bare minimum, but it didn’t cause any suspicion. Especially when she told her family how he wasn’t the most social or affectionate, but they suited each other. She had been very worried about their first meeting, but it went over surprisingly well.

"You are my sweet Darcy’s mother? You look as if you could be sisters, how fortunate for introductions," Loki murmured, charm oozing from him and it even sounded real. He kissed her knuckles and her mom actually _blushed_. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lewis. I realise…well, I know my recent actions were none too pretty, but you see, there was brainwashing involved."

"Brainwashing? Like mind control?" Her dad asked.

Wow, he was really lying through his teeth, but…this was better. In a way, this would warm them to the idea more and made more sense for her to be ‘in love with him’ if there was an actual reasoning behind it, not just him being a cold-hearted bitch.

Loki nodded. "I realise it might be difficult to get past what I have done, and I realise that might sound like an excuse, but I so deeply ashamed of myself, I could not bring myself to accompany Darcy in retrieving you or even bring her to Asgard in the first place…or at least, if I were allowed," Loki said. He clasped her dad’s arm. "It is a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Lewis. I hope that I can one day prove to all four of you that I can be a better man."

He kissed Marlene’s knuckles and clasped Joel’s arm much like he did with her dad’s. What a load of bullshit, but he was the God of Lies and this was all a big lie anyway. Might as well go down with the ship.

This was going to be one long year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realise the meet and greet with the parents is short, but it isn't exactly a normal situation. 
> 
> Next up, get your confetti ready!


	6. Here comes the bride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big day has finally arrived!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> You're all probably shocked, so many updates so soon! Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos, they always make me so happy. :')
> 
> Enjoy!

Today was the day.

It had finally come. The dreaded wedding, although Darcy wouldn’t lie that there was a strange thrill running through her. What a strange combination of feelings. Still, she had to get up and get ready. It was just as well that she was awake because Jane, her mom and her sister came in, the latter two looking far too perky for just 9am. Why this time even existed, she didn’t know.

She rubbed her eyes and accepted the breakfast that was pushed into her hands. She ate and then was quickly ushered towards the bathroom. It was going to be a very busy morning, wasn’t it? She took a luxurious bath; Asgardians really knew how to make baths. All kinds of incense, wonderful smells…she had to be careful not to fall asleep!

She got out eventually, fully drying herself and keeping the towel around her as she left the bathroom, only to find a couple of women she didn’t know. Darcy pulled the towel even tighter around herself.

"Her Majesty has sent us to give you a massage, my lady," one of them said.

Oh, well, that she could do! She’d never had a massage before, so Darcy all too readily followed them into the lounge area where the table was set up. She lay down and closed her eyes, relaxing as they got to work. It was wonderful.

Marlene, her mom and Jane were sat in the chairs, and they made small talk while Darcy was trying not to ignore them in favour of the massage. It really was hard! It was probably just as well that she couldn’t afford these back home otherwise she’d never leave the premises.

"I’m gonna need help not requesting you ladies to just carry on all day, okay?" Darcy murmured, making her masseuses laugh. One of them was working on her back and shoulders, the other on her feet and legs.

It went by all too quickly, though, and just in time, Frigga came through the door holding something that must have her dress inside it. Oh gosh, this was it.

"Thank you, ladies, we can take it from here," Frigga said.

The two women curtseyed and left, taking with them their wonderfully skillful hands. Oh massage, you will be missed!

It wasn’t too complicated or dreadful getting into the dress as she’d envisioned, and it fit perfectly. Good thing she didn’t scoff bags of doughnuts down her, isn’t it? That’s what she would have done back home. She walked over to the mirror and gazed inside it. It was a nice, lace and silk affair, strapless and poofed at the bottom. She looked like a Princess or something, especially since there were little diamonds woven in or something similar, just not in a tacky way.

She was led over to her dressing table and sat down in front of it so Frigga could do her hair. Darcy couldn’t help but feel emotional just looking at the dress; she was a little upset that her first wedding, one using such a beautiful dress, was a sham, a waste, but…even if it was, her soon-to-be mother-in-law was making sure that she made the most of it, that it was as perfect as it could be.

"How is Loki?" Darcy asked, knowing it would seem more natural.

"He is fine; unlike his bride, he will not need to take so long to prepare. Magic does wonders. He seems to be in the library, reading. He is trying to hide it, but he is quite nervous," Frigga said softly.

Darcy wondered whether the last part was true or not, but then her mom and sister had left before the dress was put on; they wanted the surprise of seeing her all ready to go altogether, especially since her mom would probably cry.

So it must be true, right? "For real? My mom and sister aren’t here…" Darcy asked.

"I think he is a little nervous; I know there are a lot of unusual myths about him, mainly jokes made by his brother and friends, however he has never been married either. Neither of my sons have. Loki has, however, had a few serious relationships, unlike my eldest," Frigga said.

"Oooh, Janey, you’re special!" Darcy grinned.

"We barely know each other, but…" Jane said.

"There’s just something about you. You’ll be fine Jane, I’ve seen the way he looks at you. As if he has found something better than even the stars in the sky," Darcy said.

"That was almost poetic, Darcy," Jane teased.

"Hey, I can be poetic," Darcy said.

"Do you wish for face adornments?" Frigga asked.

"A what now? Is that like make up?" Darcy asked.

"I do believe so," Frigga said.

"Yep, bring it on," she said.

Her seat was turned around and she closed her eyes and opened them when necessary. It didn’t take too long before Frigga stepped back.

"There we are, all done," Frigga said.

Darcy turned to look at herself in the mirror and was astonished at how un-Darcylike she was. Her hair was down, curled here and there, a couple of small braids and little diamond things dotted around. Her face was lightly made up, a slight dab of purple on her eyelids and blush on her cheeks. She couldn’t quite believe how lovely she looked; Marlene was always the prettier one, she thought, but now…she felt like she had a chance.

Not that she expected Loki to care, but she wasn’t doing this for him.

Darcy turned to Frigga and smiled. "Thank you, it’s perfect!" She said.

"You are welcome, though there was very little to do; you are already such a beautiful young woman," Frigga said.

She felt like arguing, but doubted she’d win. She took a deep breath and then there was a knock on the door, followed by the sound of her mom and sister entering.

Darcy stood up and walked over to them. It was all the two women could do not to hug Darcy right now, she could tell, and they were so very excited.

"You look beautiful! Oh, my baby!" Her mom said.

"Don’t cry! You’ll ruin your make up!" Darcy said with a laugh.

"I can’t believe after today both my babies are married!" Her mom said.

"Please don’t go around telling embarrassing stories, especially not today!" Darcy said with a groan, as she had a terrible feeling.

"But that just spoils the fun!" Her mom said.

She rolled her eyes, but she laughed.

 

* * *

 

Darcy was stood with her dad and her bridesmaids, Marlene and Jane, in the waiting chamber, a little nervous. Soon she would be…well, she wouldn’t be taking her husband’s name or anything, since the Norse use patronyms, but in a way she would be Mrs. Loki. Oh man. However, this is what she had decided to do. She wasn’t going to hesitate or run away. She was going to listen to Natasha’s advice. They’d talked long and hard, the Avenger had given her plenty of tips and Darcy felt as ready as she could be.

When Darcy heard the music, she breathed in deeply. Marlene opened the door and walked down the aisle first before Jane did, and then her dad turned to her.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"Yeah, I am. I can’t believe this is really it!" Darcy said.

She hated lying to people, but she had no choice. She couldn’t let her family in on this, no matter how much she might want to. Her dad hooked his arm in hers and they walked down the aisle to the quiet, calming music. The wedding was mostly Asgardian, with a couple of Midgardian touches to it. Apparently some Asgardians liked to add other customs to theirs anyway. The bride usually walked alone and had no bridesmaids nor did the man have a best man, but there Thor was, stood next to Loki, smiling away.

Looking at Loki, she could see shock on his face, but because this was all fake, she had no idea whether it was genuine surprise or not. After all, the groom was supposed to be stunned into awe at the sight of his beautiful bride, right?

He was wearing something similar to the armour and leather he wore in New York, except it was a lot more elegant. He also wore his helmet, which she actually thought looked cool (not that she would tell him that!) unlike a few of the Avengers who thought it looked silly. She came to stand next to her groom and her dad kissed her cheek, placing her hand into Loki’s.

She looked up at Loki with a smile and Loki was smiling too. He leant down and whispered into her ear.

"You look beautiful."

Darcy couldn’t help the blush; his words sounded so sincere, that maybe, just maybe, she could pretend they were. It wasn’t her dream wedding, but like they said, sometimes you just had to make lemonade out of the lemons you were given.

They turned to Odin, who was the wedding officiator or whatever. There was a long speech, though she wasn’t properly listening. She was a little nervous; she couldn’t really help it, for some reason it was just there. They were asked to face each other then and clasped hold each other’s right hand. Odin touched the end of his staff, Gungnir, to the end of the…well, Darcy couldn’t remember the name for the woman who was a Sorceress and part of the whole wedding ceremony thing, but either way, it glowed and then the end came down lightly upon their held hands.

When he removed it, strings of what she could only assume was magic started darting around their hands until they were quite fixed in place. Even if she wanted to, she didn’t think she could remove her hand at all.

"Now your hands are bound, as a physical representation of your entwined hearts. Loki, you will take the goblet first, and make your promise to your beloved," Odin said.

The Sorceress handed Loki a very ornate goblet (the Mortal Cup? The Goblet of Fire? She could go on…) and Loki looked into it for a moment before looking back at her.

"Darcy, I offer you this cup that is filled with the symbol of our love. Inside it, all of our hopes and dreams, our fears and worries, our love and kindness…my promise to you, if you will accept it, is that I will take all that, and make my own vows. I will cherish you, honour you, take care of you and do anything in my power to make you happy. Will you accept my love, will you accept this goblet, wherein lies the water of my oath?" Loki asked.

It was a beautiful pledge, and she had to stop herself from crying because it sounded so damn _real_. Urgh. _Keep it together, Darcy!_

Darcy smiled and nodded. "I accept, with all my heart," she said.

He gently guided the goblet to her lips and she drank the sweet wine within it. She was rueful when it was empty. Loki pulled it away and the Sorceress took it from him, refilled it and gave it to her. She had to stop herself from just drinking it all herself.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Loki, I offer you this cup, filled with all of my love, filled with my everything. I give you my heart and soul, I will love and cherish you for the rest of my days, through thick and thin, and I will kick you where it hurts if you ever so much as _look_ at a horse funny," Darcy said.

That earned a few laughs and a few gasps. She could see out of the corner of her eye that Odin didn’t seem too impressed by her joke, but eh, she’d heard about his sense of humour, or lack thereof.

Of course, her attention was mostly on Loki, who had laughed at her quip. She chuckled along with him.

"Will you accept this goblet, as a token of my commitment?" Darcy asked.

"Yes," Loki said, and she moved the goblet forward, thankful that he was ducking down so that he could drink it more easily.

The Sorceress took the goblet when it was empty and she and Loki stared into each other’s eyes. Odin said some more things, before waving Gungnir over the hands, the magic disappearing.

"You will now exchange rings," Odin said.

Loki put the ring on her finger and then she put the ring on his. They held hands as Odin spoke more and she couldn’t help but feel a sense of disbelief, like she couldn’t believe it was her standing here, getting married to a villain. The thought kept going through her head ever since the start. Only now it was far more _real_.

"You are now husband and wife, please give the couple your blessings," Odin announced.

_No kiss the bride? I guess that’s just in some places._

Loki reached down, though, and kissed her. Even if this was not what she wanted in life, he was a _very_ good kisser. His arms were wrapped around her, hers around him and it probably looked very real. It felt real, she wasn’t going to lie. When they pulled apart, they faced their adoring audience. Of course, it wasn’t all happy smiles nor were all of the smiles actually real, but it was what it was.

"Now the happy couple will complete their union and the rest of us will prepare this room for the feast!" Odin announced.

Complete…ah! Darcy realised what he meant. Maybe she should have asked more about the, ah, bedroom part of the wedding, she hadn’t realised it took place so soon after the ceremony. She’d been hoping to get a tank full of alcohol inside her first. She saw Jane’s plastered on smile as she clapped with everyone else (though a number of others were cheering, whistling and/or stamping their feet) and she made eye contact with Natasha, who had a look on her face as if to say ‘ you know what to do.’

Okay, so she _had_ talked about that stuff, just with Natasha. She’d wanted some advice, since she wasn’t used to this whole pretence thing.

_Two weeks earlier…_

"What I’m most worried about is the… _evening_ …you know," Darcy said, before taking a swig of her drink.

" _Sex_. Just say the word, it isn’t anything dirty, though it isn’t anything simple either. Sex is many things; passion, a show of love, a game, a currency, a manipulation…people have it for many reasons, though for many people it is passion within a relationship or casual sex," Natasha said.

"Have you ever had it? For passion and all that," Darcy said.

Natasha shrugged. "No, not really. Sex has always been a tool. It’s not important to me," she said.

Darcy thought over that for a few moments, wondering whether she was just getting worked up over having sex for the first time.

"Did you…choose it…when you had it first?" Darcy asked. "If that’s not too personal."

Natasha smirked. "You’re wondering whether it is silly of you to care, but it’s not. My sex life is different. Whether I chose it or not…it’s not as simple as that. Darcy, there are people out there who say that virginity is a social construct, made to put females down, insist that we stay pure for marriage, etc. It is what you make it, if it is important to you, then that is what it is," she explained.

"People say all kinds of crap, some say the first time is the most awkward, some think putting so much stock on ‘first times’ is bullshit. Others think of first times as neverending. Even if you have sex with Loki, you’ll still have a first time with the next person," Natasha said, sipping her beer (Tony had packed a lot of alcohol, just in case Asgard didn’t have that kind of thing). "Some people don’t even remember their first time. Others treasure it. Different strokes for different folks."

"I say don’t think about it. Loki’s a handsome guy, you’re a beautiful girl…just focus on that. Let everything else slip from your mind. Maybe this doesn’t have to be all that bad," Natasha said with a playful smile.

Darcy nodded, pondering. "Yeah, maybe…I’ll think about that. Thanks, Natasha," she said.

_Present day…_

She felt Loki lift her into his arms, bridal style as the saying went, and she looked up at him. Loki was smiling at her and then he started making his way out of the large hall. He walked with her in his arms through all kinds of corridors before he finally got to the door that led to the stairs up to his chambers. This was it, the moment of… _bare truth_. Okay, she would have laughed at that had she not been so _nervous._ It was ridiculous.

Before she knew it, she was on one side of his bed and he was above her, kissing her. He’d removed his helmet and armour, even the leather until he was just in a soft tunic. She closed her eyes, remembering Natasha’s words. It wouldn’t be so bad, sleeping with him, right? It was only the one time, after all, as she doubted there was something that would monitor how often they did or did not have it, right? From now on, they could just pretend they were having it…

How did they even _know_ that a couple has consummated the marriage? Had she just forgotten something she was actually told?

Then Loki stopped kissing her and rolled away from her, leaving her blinking up at the painted ceiling of the four-poster bed. She looked over at him as he pushed his shoes off and hooked one ankle over the other.

"Wait…we’re not having sex?" Darcy asked.

"That is correct, yes," Loki replied.

"But…wait, won’t they know? I mean—" Darcy started.

Loki turned so that he was lying on his side, elbow on the bed and head in his hand.

"No, they will not. I have broken through the enchantment and tricked it," Loki said.

Her eyes widened. "Really? So all this time I have been-I have been worried and all along you could…" Darcy said.

Loki shrugged and lay back again.

"How…so there’s a spell that lets people know that we’ve consummated? Who gets notified? How does that even work? And why? Isn’t that invasive?" Darcy asked.

"A long time ago, there used to be witnesses, three trusted people who would witness the act. It is just a nobleman custom, mind. The general populace can consummate as and when they want to. Of course, that custom changed and now it is regulated with a very powerful enchantment placed upon us…you remember the binding of our hands? It is Odin, my mother and the Sorceress who are the ones who are, notified, in such a way. It is unclear how, I have never really asked," Loki explained.

"Holy shit, that’s really disturbing. When did it change? Did someone complain enough?" Darcy asked.

"Someone certainly did; it was my mother. You might see her as the sweet and kind Queen, but let me tell you, she is quite a fearsome woman," Loki said, laughing. "It took a lot of effort for Odin to get an acceptance of courtship from her; and, when it came to the proposal, she accepted on the stipulation that the customs change to be a little less invasive. Eventually, it was agreed."

"Your mom’s amazing," Darcy said.

Silence fell between them for a moment.

Eventually, she sighed. "Thanks, I…appreciate it, I mean, of course it benefits you, getting out of—" Darcy said.

"You think I did it for myself?" Loki asked.

"Well, yeah—"

"Darcy, however much I might dislike this arrangement, I am not blind. With full consent, I would not have been against lying with you," Loki said.

"You’re really confusing…you’ve caused all kinds of terror and yet…" Darcy murmured.

He chuckled dryly. "I am a monster of many contradictions, I wouldn’t concern yourself with it," Loki said.

She felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Darcy looked over at him, wondering what on Earth was going on with him. Contradictory was the right word, though he had so easily called himself a monster. She wasn’t sure what he was. He certainly suited the title of Trickster God, but that sounded like a lonely thing.

She let out a deep breath. "So, how long is considered appropriate to wait until we return?" Darcy asked.

"They need to set up the hall…I would say an hour, at best. So for now…just relax," Loki said.


	7. It could be worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy finds out a little more about her new husband and the wedding festivities commence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there!
> 
> Thanks for the comments and kudos, it makes me happy when I get them. <3
> 
> Enjoy!

 "When you said I looked beautiful before, did you mean it or was it just because you were expected to say that?" Darcy asked.

Loki chuckled. "Both. It was both the truth and expected," he replied.

She felt her cheeks warm up yet again. "You know, you’re being awfully nice today…not that I’m complaining, but it’s quite a big leap," she said, turning over onto her side to look at him. She might as well try to figure out what the heck was going on with him, right?

He smirked. "I suppose I had better make the most of what I have and if that includes a little mischief, then I certainly am up for that," Loki said, reaching over to stroke her cheek.

As much as she kind of liked the feeling, she reached up and took his hand, moving it away from her before letting it go. She couldn’t very well let him think doing that kind of stuff would work with her.

"You gotta buy a girl dinner before stroking her cheek, man, didn’t you know that already? Don’t tell me you tried to take over planet you know _nothing_ about, hm?" Darcy said.

Okay, maybe she shouldn’t joke about this stuff. She’d been watching too much British black comedy, apparently.

Loki raised his eyebrows before chuckling. "I admire your attempt, Miss. Lewis, however I happen to know that that sort of term is used when it comes to more than just stroking your cheek," Loki said.

"Maybe, but I’m not everyone. It’s dinner for the cheek stroking, the bearing of your soul for a kiss…and you can’t handle anymore of this just yet," Darcy said, making it up as she went along.

Loki smirked. "If you say so, though I do believe the first two can be managed in public," he said.

"I had better get a cold sore then!" Darcy said.

"What in the nine is a cold sore?" Loki asked.

"It’s this infectious thingy you get on your lips, if you carry the thingy…if you kiss a person with a cold sore you’re likely to catch it," Darcy said.

"I assure you that your mortal ailments will not affect me," Loki said.

"Dammit,"  Darcy said.

"You can relax, Miss. Lewis. My family know me not to be the most publicly affectionate person. You need not suffer more than necessary," Loki said.

Darcy just stared at him a moment before shaking her head, eyes dropping to the sheets.

"You’re…I don’t get you. You don’t seem to be thrilled by the idea of someone trying to save your ass from jail, you don’t seem to care about whether or not you end up there…what’s the deal?" Darcy asked.

Loki shrugged and turned onto his back again, not answering her. She waited a few moments before realising he definitely didn’t seem to be answering and did the same, staring up at the ceiling. One moment he seemed fine and the next he acted like an asshole. She couldn’t understand him at all. But then, he was a criminal ridiculously allowed a second chance, provided he behaved and proved himself capable of being good again.

She couldn’t wait for the feast; she wanted lots of food and some alcohol, that’s all she wanted right now. Some way to let loose and maybe do a bit of forgetting of what she has to put up with for the next year. Someone whose moods seemed to change in the wind. Darcy sighed a little; this was not what her dream wedding looked like, but she’d known that once she’d made her final decision.

She felt the bed move a little as Loki once again shifted his weight and this time she saw him offering her a strange silvery-gold object that was not quite a cuboid, one end like a cuboid, the other jutting out into a kind of crystal-shape, and was actually something like a crystal. Diamond? Some alien gem? She had no clue. On the side not bejewelled with diamond (or whatever), was written something. She took the item off him and read it.

_Darcy Lewis, wife of Prince Loki._

"Thanks, uh," Darcy said, not really sure what it was.

"Everyone of Asgard has one of these; it signifies where one’s payment is taken from, should you not have money on hand. It is a little like your card system, I suppose, except not so complicated. You have no Asgardian income of your own, so you are labelled as my wife so that it comes from my wealth. If you were to have your own wealth, then you would have your own as well, with just your name," Loki explained.

"Not a different one? I could still use your money? Would you get one with my name on too?" Darcy asked.

"Only if you allowed it, however, it would be pointless, I have more than enough money," Loki said.

"You would trust me with your money?" Darcy asked.

"You are trusting Thor with his belief that I will not kill you and everyone around me, I think there is little to compare. You may use it as you wish, I am not allowed out of the palace," Loki said.

"…Unless you sneak out, of course," she muttered.

"I cannot be caged completely," Loki shrugged. "Even if it was a waste of time."

"Okay…so I kinda followed you—"

"I know, Darcy. People simply cannot sneak up on me, with the only few exceptions occurring when I am at my weakest," Loki said.

"I guess I should have known," Darcy chuckled dryly. "Look, what you did was good. Please don’t let the bad reactions push you back to bad. It’ll take time to win back that trust."

"Good, bad…it matters not very much anymore. Even if this ridiculous plan does work, I will forever be known for what I have done in my recent years," Loki said.

Darcy pursed her lips, wanting so bad to yell at him; ridiculous? Okay, maybe she thought it was kind of stupid, but for _him_ to say something that sounded so ungrateful...

Bring on the feast, bring it on _now_ …

 

* * *

 

When the time finally came, Darcy was only too eager to return to the party. Even if the happiness was faked, she would take that over the awkwardness of spending time alone with Loki any day. Loki reached over and mussed her hair a little, which she realised was to…well, make things a little more realistic, she supposed. His hair looked a little more rumpled now too, though she reached up and ruffled it more.

They entered the banquet hall and was so glad to see a long buffet table along with a long table set up with plates and cutlery, and goblets too. The table was wide enough to fit two at the end of the table. One side had Odin and Frigga, the other was obviously laid out for them.

"Darcy!" Jane said.

Darcy walked over to her friend while she spotted Thor pulling Loki aside and asking him something, a slight frown on his face. Loki didn’t look all that thrilled either, speaking back to him, though Darcy didn’t know what they were saying.

"Are you alright?" Jane asked.

She knew exactly what her friend was trying to say without actually saying it and she bumped shoulders with her.

"Don’t worry, Janey, everything’s fine, I didn’t do a damn thing I didn’t want to do," Darcy said.

That was vague enough…she’ll talk to her friend later when they were away from the supersonic hearing. She didn’t want to mess anything up, Loki had been decent enough to come up with a solution that didn’t involve her doing something she didn’t want to. So she wasn’t going to jinx that. Then Loki came and joined her.

"What was that about?" Darcy asked with a small smirk.

"The same thing, except more direct, than what you received," Loki said with a roll of his eyes.

"You would have gotten a hammer to the head if you’d answered badly, huh?" Darcy grinned.

"Yes, quite so," Loki said. "Let us get our food; they are waiting on us. Volstagg looks ready to eat Fandral."

Darcy snorted and walked with him to the long table with way more foods than she could name. She deliberated over a few of them, didn’t choose the ones that smelt awful though. That made it a little easier.

"You will find those three dishes will not be to your liking," Loki said, pointing out three of them.

"Why?" She asked.

"They are spicy," Loki replied.

"How do you know? That I don’t like spicy food, I mean," Darcy said.

"I remember your reaction when you ate the food from a couple of weeks ago, when you drank both your drink and my drink very quickly," Loki said.

Huh. She’d forgotten about that. It had been a little sauce she’d dipped a potato in (damn Asgard for not having fries!) and she thought she’d been subtle about it, but apparently Mr. Observant had caught on. She wondered whether everyone had. How embarrassing. Still, it was kind of nice that he’d noticed and decided to help her. Was it just because of the wedding or was he perhaps nicer than she’d thought? Ah, she had no idea.

"Thank you," Darcy murmured.

Loki recommended a few things and they both took their very full plates to the table to sit down. After that, everyone else got their food. Darcy wasn’t overly sure whether she’d actually manage to eat all of this food, but considering she was surrounded by Asgardians with big appetites, she didn’t think there would be a problem there. Loki was particularly polite an eater, whereas many others were not so.

Apparently Asgardian weddings didn’t do speeches, but they did do dances. None that she knew, of course, but she just needed to focus on not tripping up and she would probably be fine. It was for the best that there were no speeches, as she didn’t think some people could wait that long for the food; she couldn’t blame them, she was starving.

Between the mandatory skipping of breakfast and all the fake sex she had, she was quick to dig into her food, just without being a complete slob about it. Then there were the times when Loki fed her things (trying to look all romantic and stuff—it certainly was a romantic gesture!) and she reciprocated…maybe she tried to do the aeroplane thing, which earned a confused and unamused expression.

She had to take a break part way through, definitely having too much on her plate.

Loki reached over to steal one of her strawberries and popped it into his mouth.

"Hey, that’s mine, I’m not even finished!" Darcy playfully pouted.

He smiled at her, a smile that admittedly sent a jolt down her spine, and moved his head towards her, catching her lips. He had his hand on her cheek, his thumb coming to her chin and seeming to tug downwards, which she realised must mean that he wanted her to…

She allowed their kiss to deepen, and she could taste the strawberry. It was so tender, like he wasn’t a mass murdering criminal who had to go through with a ridiculous loophole in the law to try and get himself out of jail.

When he pulled away gently, she was left with the feeling of a fluttering heart, it had been a breathtaking kiss and she had to blink to snap herself out of the daze she knew she was falling into before taking a sip of her drink. She grabbed her little bowl of strawberries as she saw Loki’s hand reach towards it again, holding it away from him like a child, smiling at him playfully. And, in the odd mind-frame that she was in now, she took one and placed it between her teeth.

Loki returned her playful smile and bent his head, lips over hers again. He ended up with the strawberry, as he’d caused her to laugh. It was genuine too, for she hadn’t expected it. The bowl ended up on the floor and she nudged him, looking down with a sigh as her strawberries were gone. She heard him snigger and looked over to see that he had  handful of her strawberries. She also caught the rather happy expression on Thor’s face in the corner of her eyes.

Darcy reached over to grab some strawberries out of his hand, but ended up squashing them. She imagined the only thing that kept him from wiping his hand on her was that she was wearing a white dress. It didn’t stop her from reaching up and smearing his face with her hand, though. He took her by the wrist, and magically cleaned his face and their hands. Spoilsport.

Well, they were certainly making a scene, but Darcy didn’t care. She was actually having fun, something she didn’t think she would have today.

She wasn’t going to say ‘Maybe this year wouldn’t be so bad’ because she knew that would turn out to be a total lie and she wasn’t going to do that to herself. This year was going to be a weird one, probably full of frustration and misery, because what if she misses the chance to find the person she actually could fall in love with?

However, there was no point in her dwelling on this. Especially when dessert was laid out on the buffet table and she got to shove a whole load of different yummy looking things onto her plate. She made sure to eat her strawberries first, though, and deliberately ate the last one while Loki watched, his eyes narrowing. So Loki liked strawberries, heck, she would hazard a guess that he _loved_ them.

That was kind of cute.

 

* * *

 

After the dessert was finished, everyone just focused on letting their food go down and talk. It felt a little strange that there were no speeches, but she didn’t mind. Brides usually didn’t get to speak anyway, which kinda sucked, though she wasn’t sure she would know what to say anyway. It made this pretence just a little bit easier. She talked to Jane for a bit before getting up and going over to Pepper, then Natasha.

Of course, she couldn’t say anything right now, but she assured them that she was perfectly fine.

Jane came over and the four of them had a good laugh.

"Have you seen the gardens?" Jane asked.

"They’re beautiful, right?" Pepper replied.

"Nope, haven’t seen much more than Loki’s bedroom, on account of all the making out," Darcy said.

The girls laughed; they knew the truth, but Darcy knew she had a funny way of saying things.

"I am not really a nature girl," Natasha said.

"We’re going to have to drag you two out there, then," Pepper said.

"I’m up for that, Darcy said.

"Sure, why not?" Natasha said with a smile.

Then there came the announcement of dancing, which of course meant that she and Loki were up first. At least some things were the same. Loki walked over to her and held out his hand.

"Will you do me the honour of dancing with me, my beloved?" Loki asked.

She couldn’t help the giggle and she held out her hand, allowing him to lead her to the dance floor and he put his free arm around her waist, pulling her close. Darcy couldn’t help but look up at him as they danced, though she needed to anyway. She wasn’t really practised in this kind of dancing, but thankfully he was taking the lead and made that a whole lot simpler.

There was some nice music playing and she found herself getting closer and leaning against his chest, mostly because she was a bit sleepy now. Darcy had eaten too much, and maybe she didn’t sleep quite as well last night considering how nervous she was for today. At least now this was over and, sure, she had to share with Loki, but he’d been respectable before, she hoped that he would keep that up.

She felt like a Princess, though, which was a little apt, considering she was married to a Prince. Darcy felt a little like she was in a twisted Disney story, maybe alternate Beauty and the Beast. At least that was her favourite, even if there were some moral issues with it. That was basically the fairytale thing, though; underlining a lot of them were these little things, like strange dudes kissing girls while they were unconscious, girls falling for their captors, girls living with seven men (in fairness, that was an old-timey problem, bullshit now).

At least she was in this of her own volition, not forced, though she didn’t exactly _want_ to and she was just helping out a friend. It was completely different to the whole being held captive thing.

Soon others came to the dance floor and joined them. Jane and Thor, Thor’s parents, Volstagg and his wife, Tony and Pepper. She felt a little better.

For a fake wedding, it wasn’t all that bad.


	8. Poker face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy gets to hang around with the Avengers and watch as one of them forces Loki to spend time with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> Thanks for the comments and kudos! I love them. <3 
> 
> Enjoy!

And just like that, the wedding was over.

Darcy could _really_ tell the difference.

Loki had turned back to Mr. Grumpy, like the clock had struck twelve and the carriage had turned back into a pumpkin. He spent his time reading and basically ignoring her unless they made their rounds outside of the room together, which wasn’t very often. Okay, so she understood that he wasn’t exactly going to feel comfortable being around those he wasn’t exactly fond of nor was fond of him, but she supposed she’d been spoilt with all the niceness he had been exuding.

Ah well, she spent her time with her new little pack of girlfriends, which was a lot of fun.

Though maybe a little invasive.

"So, tell us all about it," Natasha said, making Jane spit out her drink.

"What?" Darcy asked, innocently.

"You know," Natasha said with a smirk. "Even if it is _Loki_ , you’re one of two who’s partnered with an Asgardian and unfortunately Jane has nothing to offer."

Jane went beet red. It was cute, actually.

"We did nothing. In the end, he was able to confuse the freaky spell thing," Darcy said. "I didn’t say anything afterwards because I didn’t want anyone overhearing with their freaky Asgardian hearing."

"That’s almost anti-climactic," Natasha said.

Darcy rolled her eyes. "It’s a damned relief."

"I know. I think I speak for us all when I say we’re relieved too," Natasha said.

It was kind of strange how her life was now. She hadn’t had a lot of interaction yet, but there were the Avengers, the Asgardians, her new friends. Natasha was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, yet strangely Darcy had come to get along really well with her and she seemed so much more down to Earth than she would have expected. She hadn’t heard a whole lot, but what she did know, well.

Thor had suggested they all get together for a small gathering, as the wedding had been directly for Darcy and Loki, and there had been a lot more mingling to do. Darcy couldn’t help but feel a little worried about what they would say, how they felt about her marrying the guy who trashed New York. She felt a little like she’d betrayed Earth, in a way, even though it wasn’t for real.

It was two days after the wedding that they were all sat in a comfortable lounge in the palace and Loki nor Thor had arrived yet.

She arrived with Jane and Pepper, since she’d bumped into them on the way here, so they managed to claim the seats they wanted (not that there weren’t plenty, of course). According to Natasha, the sixth Avenger who wasn’t here, Clint, was with his family. He’d been put through some mind control crap because of Loki and Darcy really couldn’t blame him for not being here.

Steve was the first one to walk in and he smiled at the three girls, coming over to join them. He sat down and they said their hellos, and there was no mention of the _thing_ that she kind of thought might come up. Then again, maybe Steve wasn’t the Avenger she really expected that from.

"So how long do we have until we have to say goodbye to you guys?" Darcy asked.

"Well, Thor said we could stay for as long as we wanted, but we’re probably going to head back in a few days. If all is well; Heimdall promised to keep an eye on Earth," Steve said.

"Makes sense; heroes can’t exactly stay away for too long," Darcy said.

It made her imagine heroes putting in for holidays, but considering they stopped the world from being invaded and other such problems, there was the proviso of there not being world-shaped problems not interrupting. It reminded her just a little of the Sims 3, where her international super spy sim got interrupted at her own wedding to go to work. So stupid.

"How’re you coping with life now, Steve? I mean, the new time," Darcy asked.

"Not too bad…I’ve only been here for about five months, I still have a lot to catch up on. Tony’s helped me out a lot there, actually," Steve said.

"I can totally imagine that. Listen, I’ll make you a list of shows I recommend. First off, have you heard of Friends?" Darcy asked.

"I haven’t," Steve said.

"That’s number one on the list. I’ll list shows and movies, food—" Darcy started.

"I do have a list I have started, but I’ll add yours to it as well," Steve said, pulling out a little notepad.

"Okay, TV shows…" Darcy said, and started listing numerous shows.

Bruce and Natasha walked in next, the former looking a little uncomfortable as always, the latter quite the opposite. Soon after them, Tony came in and sat down right next to Pepper. There was a light flutter of chatter until Tony finally broke the tension that maybe only Darcy felt.

"So, here’s something I want to know and probably everyone else does, why Loki? Are you sure he’s worth it?" Tony asked.

There it was. Darcy had been expecting it, in all honesty, and Tony seemed to be the only one blunt enough to ask. She rubbed her head a little before sighing.

"I know it doesn’t make sense to most people, but I…I can’t explain it, not really. I mean, I know Loki hasn’t been broadcasting this because I think he has a lot of pride and embarrassment, but he was brainwashed too," Darcy said.

She thought, she might as well use the same lie he did. After all, she was in far too deep anyway to get away from this, to get out of the stigma. Luckily not many people of Earth would know about it and thus she could go and live somewhere peacefully. Hopefully, anyway. There were dreams and then there was reality. They didn’t always like to be friends. In fact, it wasn’t often that they were.

"Brainwashed…although, I remember seeing the footage and he did look like shit when he first arrived, much like how Dr. Selvig was afterwards," Tony said.

That sent a great shiver of cold guilt through her; Erik, though they weren’t close, was her friend and he’d suffered at Loki’s hands. She gulped down her drink and got up to get another, happy for something to distract her for even a moment.

"I don’t think I’d ever stop loving you, Tony. If you suddenly did bad things, I’d still love you, but you’d have to change if you wanted me to stay with you. That’s what Loki’s doing, I think. He has a lot to do, to make amends for, but it’s obvious Thor and Darcy think there’s hope," Pepper interjected and suddenly her love for the woman shot right up.

"Huh. I never thought of it like that," Tony said.

"A lot of us have our skeletons…some of us more than others," Natasha said with a shrug, sipping her drink. "I’m still working off mine. If Loki really was brainwashed, then he’s a little less at fault than I am for my crimes."

"What a sticky situation," Tony said, grabbing a drink.

"The brothers sure are taking their time," Natasha said.

"It’ll be the first time we’ve properly had a chance to interact with Reindeer Games," Tony said.

"You know, if he goes back to the dark side, it’ll be because of you," Natasha said.

"Back? He hasn’t come out of it, really. You can’t just do so that easily, it takes time," Tony said.

"I agree with Tony," Bruce said.

"I don’t disagree with you there, I was just exaggerating," Natasha said, rolling her eyes.

Darcy was actually relieved; it was strange a situation, but as much as they may not truly accept what she’s decided, because she didn’t really think for one moment that it was _that_ simple and the same went for the girls, they were at least not giving her a hard time. She did wonder, though, when the brothers would be arriving; looking at her watch, they’d been here about half an hour now.

"Anyone fancy some card games? Maybe poker…" Tony said,

Now _this_ was something she could do! She’d learnt how to play in college, she was decent, but she wasn’t sure how well she would do against Tony Stark, who she reckoned was a bit of a card shark, but she knew it would be good _fun_. Tony dealt the hand and so the game began. Jane was atrocious, as was Steve, neither really understanding the game.

Natasha and Tony were the obvious masters, though after a couple of games, Bruce and Pepper surprised them with their sudden winnings. Darcy was pretty good, she certainly wasn’t being left too far behind in it all. They started playing bullshit after so many games of poker. She wasn’t sure how long they were playing for when Thor and Loki suddenly burst in…or rather stumbled. Thor’s arm  was draped over Loki’s shoulders and from the slight bit of blood splattered across them, it was clear that this was not some happy-go-lucky entrance, though Thor _was_ laughing.

Both Jane and herself got up, rushing to them to see if they were alright. She found that it wasn’t all that difficult to feel worry for both of the men, but then she was naturally a caring person. Loki seemed to wave them out of the way in favour of getting Thor onto a chair.

"What the hell? When? Why? What?" Darcy spluttered.

Loki rolled her eyes at her. "A minor incursion of bilgesnipes led by a Sorceress," he said. "Nothing that has not happened before."

"Wait, aren’t you on house arrest?" Tony asked.

"When I heard about the bilgesnipes, Loki was just a little behind me, so I urged him to assist me, like old times. Of course, I wasn’t sure he would accept, but when one managed to get _inside_ —" Thor started.

"I do not _understand_ how that could have _possibly_ occurred. Clearly someone has been tampering with my wards since I have been gone," Loki said.

"How did you get injured? Fandral said you guys work together like clockwork, usually," Darcy said.

"I was careless, a little too _happy_ that my brother worked—" Thor started.

"I am not—" Loki started, but Thor was quick to hit him over the head, which Loki returned with a jab with what was probably magic.

"—alongside me again, and he was admonishing me…then it turned out the Sorceress was still conscious. Loki helped me dodge, but she hit my ankle," Thor said with a laugh.

"A weak spell, merely numbed his ankle," Loki finished for him.

"Shouldn’t you go to the healers room?" Jane asked, worriedly.

"This is not our blood, fear not Jane," Thor said, still clearly amused.

Loki waved a hand and the blood was gone, his clothes rippled back into his softer yet elegant tunic and Thor was returned to his more casual Asgardian wear. He looked around, suddenly apparently too aware of his audience. He stood up and started towards the door.

"Wait, Loki!" Darcy said, stumbling towards him. "Where are you going? We were going to make an effort…"

"I know, I apologise, I am…not quite ready yet," Loki murmured softly, his hands on the sides of her face. He leant down and rested his forehead against hers for a few moments. "It was difficult enough facing you after what I did, my dear…"

"Mm, well, you still owe me big time. Since you’re taking yet another get out of jail free card here, you’re gonna owe me some more," Darcy said.

"I will endeavour to do my best, D—" Loki started.

A throat clearing broke them apart, Darcy a little embarrassed, Loki annoyed. It was Tony, of course.

"Sorry to break up this lovey-dovefest, but you really should join us. No buts. Since we’re making an effort _not_ to give you what for once again, you can make an effort to show us you actually _want_ to make amends. So come and play cards with us," Tony said.

Darcy smirked up at him and started pulling him towards the group again, pushing him onto the floor. Steve helped Thor down, and they handed out the cards. Steve sat out for the time being, since it was a bit difficult to play with more than eight players and he wasn’t overly keen on the game. Thor also decided he’d rather play alongside Jane, since he didn’t know the rules and found these games tricky. It soon turned out that the whole God of Lies thing turned out to be a real downer, so they had to chuck Loki out of the game.

Instead, Darcy copied Jane and Thor by sitting in Loki’s lap. It was allowed as long as he didn’t help her. Loki seemed content, however, making no fuss when he was asked (none-too-politely by Tony) to stop playing. It actually felt rather nice being in his lap, then again despite the awkwardness and the whole situation, she did actually like a few of their faked activities, such as the kissing.

She’d always enjoyed kissing, she didn’t really know why she hadn’t tried anything else, but then she didn’t like the idea of one nighters. The partners she’d had were not all that great, mainly wanted her for her body and didn’t want what she wanted; anything real and emotional.

But like with poker, the game got old pretty fast and they turned to uno. Thanks to Loki, they had two packs, which would make it a whole lot easier to play with nine people. It was good fun.

"Oh, dear Lord," Darcy said as the next person put a pick up four down after her plus two, and it went around, as apparently everyone seemed to have enough cards to have plenty of pick ups. It was like a time bomb, and in the end, twelve plus two cards and four plus four cards went down, leaving poor Bruce with quite a pile. Forty cards to pick up.

"Ah, my friend, what luck!" Thor laughed.

"At least you shall have little difficulty finding a card to put down," Loki said, attempting to reassure him, but Darcy didn’t think that was all that possible right now.

Loki appeared to be a fan of using the miss a go and the switcheroo cards, much to her annoyance; she had a difficult time getting a card down thanks to her _beloved_. Eventually, she managed to get a plus four down on him, which he put another…it got to Bruce and he was frantically looking through his deck after a resounding NO from him. Luckily, he had one and Thor had to pick up.

"Loki and Darcy, always the troublemakers," Tony said with a chuckle.

Oh yeah, Loki started the last one, huh?

"He _is_ the God of Mischief, after all," Bruce pointed out. "And she’s Mrs. Mischief."

Darcy snorted; she supposed that was true, she was now something of an accomplice, though she wasn’t going to let it be that easy. She reached over and slid her hand through so that her hand was on Loki’s bicep and oooh, he may not be built like Thor, but he had muscles alright. She leant closer to him and put her head on his shoulder.

"See? We’re having fun, right?" Darcy murmured.

"Yes. I am having fun," Loki murmured back, but there was a hint of something there…

She realised soon enough that it was mischief. It was subtle, but she could tell that he was doing something. She nudged him and he looked over at her, she narrowed her eyes. He smirked at her and gave her a wink. She rolled her eyes and looked back at her hand. She yawned, maybe they’d played too many games, because she was starting to get a little bored.

So why not just lean against Loki for a while?

 

…Or fall asleep.

Darcy woke up slowly, unsure what was going on, but she could hear voices.

"You should really go easy on her, Reindeer Games," Tony said. "I’m sure Captain Hammer and Mischief Managed can go for hours, but Darcy’s human."

The image of Jane blushing furiously came to mind, but she was a little too sleep-hazed to smile or laugh. She wasn’t lying in the same position, though, not against his shoulder. Possibly his lap. Huh.

"I assure you that is not the case, Mr. Stark. Thor might be inclined to spend all his nights throwing around his hammer, but I am not him," Loki responded.

"Loki!"

Darcy couldn’t blame Thor for objecting, but it was funny. It seemed like Loki was pretty damn hilarious when he wasn’t being a miserable miser.

"Struggle with women? It’s okay, it’s not unusual. One out of five experience performance issu—" Tony’s voice stopped and ended with an ‘Ah!’

She felt the movement as Loki had moved slightly forwards and he had probably hit Tony with magic. The was followed by a shout from Thor and she felt his legs move a little. Finally, she decided to see what was going on and opened her eyes, getting up onto her forearms resting upon his thighs. She turned to see Loki on his back, Mjölnir on his chest. Loki grunted and she looked over at Tony, who was sitting up with Pepper and Bruce by his sides.

"Loki!" Thor growled again.

"It was hardly life-threatening, Thor," Loki snarled.

Darcy sighed. At least Tony seemed alright, though he really shouldn’t have hit out. Not really all that surprising, considering who he was, but all the card games had made her forget that just a little. He’d been more than decent throughout it.

She looked at Thor through hazy eyes; why was she so tired?

"You threw that? It’s a good thing I didn’t get up sooner!" Darcy said.

"You were sound asleep, fear not, Darcy, I would never have risked your life," Thor said.

"She wasn’t, actually," Natasha interjected.

"Yeah, I heard from the Captain Hammer shtick. Might be a good idea to lay off the jokes, Tony, while Loki’s still sensitive," Darcy said, sitting up and stretching a little. "Just sayin’."

"That’ll be the day," Pepper said.


	9. Questions and answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Darcy wants to know the answers to some questions she has, but it doesn't seem like she'll get them any time soon. Still, she does manage to have a fair conversation with him...of sorts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> Thanks for all the comments and kudos, I appreciate them and they make me smile. <3
> 
> Enjoy!

Darcy had taken Loki back to their room, thinking that was enough interaction for the day; far more than she had expected. She pulled him by the arm until they were in front of his door, where he pulled his arm out of her grasp. He stepped into his room without saying a word and he was clearly angry, though she didn’t know why he was taking it out on _her_. All she ever did was try to help him.

"Hey. Just calm down, would you?" Darcy asked. "I know some jokes go too far, but dammit Loki, just chill."

Loki whirled around and though she hadn’t been around when he was stomping around Earth, those eyes made her think of that. She pursed her lips, not willing to let herself crawl away in fear and instead she straightened up and grabbed him by the tunic. She stared up at him as he glared down at her.

"I know you’re mad, but why? Why did you attack us in New Mexico? Why did you attack New York? Please, even if you don’t want to tell everyone else, let me understand…I know I’m just a lowly human, but you know, Thor and your mother love you," Darcy said. "You have a reason to change your life, yet you’re resisting. Why is that?"

She swallowed, Loki’s expression not lighting up at all, heck she thought he was glaring harder now. Instead, he carried on walking into his quarters and she followed him.

 

Not entirely sure how it happened, they were both sitting cross-legged on the bed, facing each other. His expression was less scary, at least, but there was still a hardness to it. She’d asked him to sit with her and to at least consider it. She wasn’t sure where this would go, but she was willing to try anything at this point. Thor may not be paying for her to do this (okay, she wouldn’t deny that a part of her regretted turning down the kerching, but she was no prostitute and it had smelt too much like that), but she had the equivalent of Loki’s credit card.

She got the impression that he did not care what she did with it.

"It obviously boils down to something that happened before Thor was banished. You were fine before then. So what was it?" Darcy asked.

Silence.

He didn’t trust her. That much was obvious, so maybe she had to do something to warm him to her.

"How about a game? It’s called questions, and we can alternate. You ask a question and then I ask a question. We won’t cover any serious things, just little ones. You start," Darcy said.

Silence fell again, but it seemed as if he were thinking. Then he straightened and he had an expression that she could only describe as wicked. Smirk and all. Uh oh.

"Our wedding. If I had not been so kind, would that have been your first?" Loki asked.

She groaned, though it was better than she’d imagined. Somehow she thought he was going to make a mockery of it and ask her what her cup size was or something.

"Yeah, it was. And before you ask, you aren’t my first kiss," Darcy replied. "And if we’re going to be this way, how old were you when you had sex for the first time?"

She could have sworn she saw his eyes narrow, but it was ever so slight an action.

"I was fifty at the time, a woman I had fallen in love with," Loki said.

"Fifty…I guess that’s young for you, eh?" Darcy teased.

Loki shrugged. "Hardly, however, my interests were always very different to most. Do not mistake me, I do enjoy company in my bedroom, however, it was one of many things I enjoyed," Loki said.

Darcy opened her mouth but then chuckled. "Your turn, I’ll save my question," Darcy said.

"Go ahead," Loki said. His eyes had dropped to the bedspread.

Darcy shuffled a bit closer and put her hand on his knee, which she noticed drew his eyes to her again. She dropped her hand, unsure how comfortable he was.

"You used the past tense, ‘enjoyed’…do you not anymore?" She asked.

He stared at her before looking away. "I know not," he responded. "Why did you agree with this ridiculous farce? You are no longer taking payment, so what is in it for you?"

Darcy stared at him and bit her lip. "This is awfully serious considering we were going to start light," Darcy said. "To be honest, I don’t really know. I guess I wanted to help Thor, even though I don’t know him that well…"

"Thor has always been good at getting people to help him; he has a certain charm. He is better with the people who are easily charmed, I suppose, and I have always had a way with the tricky ones," Loki said.

"Are you calling me easy?" Darcy asked.

"Is that one of your questions?" Loki asked.

"This could go on for a while…no it wasn’t!" Darcy replied.

"You may be easier to charm, but difficult people…ah, you do not want to live that life," Loki said.

"I’m married to it though," Darcy said, earning her an eye roll.

"Okay, my turn. Why are you determined not to try and change your ways? Or at least, why are you being so difficult about it?" Darcy asked.

"Perhaps I believe I should be punished, perhaps I do not care anymore. Take your pick," Loki shrugged.

She had questions, so many, but didn’t want to push it. She had theories, but it was too early to ask, to speak of her suspicions. He was such a difficult guy!

"What is your favourite colour?" Loki asked, clearly trying to make it simple again.

"Purple. I’ve always loved it," Darcy said.

"When’s your birthday?" Darcy asked.

"31st December, 965," Loki replied.

"Aww, New Year’s Eve! Though I suppose you guys don’t celebrate that."

"No, we do not celebrate any of the same holidays Midgard does," Loki said.

"What is your birthday?" Loki asked.

"14th February, 1991. Yes, I know, Valentine’s day," Darcy said with a roll of her eyes.

Loki smirked. "You must _love_ it," he said.

"NO! No, no, no, _get out!_ " Darcy groaned, falling back on the bed, thankful she was near the pillows.

"Does this mean I win?" Loki asked.

"What do you mean? There is no winner!" Darcy said.

"You fell back first in our little stand off. Well, sitting down, but my point is, you fell backwards and might I say so _gracefully_ ," Loki smirked.

"You’re so annoying," Darcy said.

"Thank you."

This was better, at least. She felt like she was at least getting something out of him and he seemed calmer. She doubted she was going to get the answers she wanted out of him anytime soon, but you had to start somewhere and she thought she’d gotten pretty far all things considered. She stared up at the top of the four-poster, getting slightly more used to the idea that she was stuck with the God of Mischief, aka Chaos for a year. Her life really was weird. She finished college, joined Jane in her work again because she enjoyed it and bam, off to Norway they go and New York is devastated.

And now she was married to that guy.

Oh shit, was she going to have to postpone college? Would Heimdall be able to help her commute? Holy crap, how could she forget about college??! That was something she was going to have to talk to Thor about. She wasn’t about to waste three years’ worth of college education, especially when it was so damned expensive.

"You have gone quiet. I should have made a terrible joke long ago," Loki said with a chuckle.

"I was thinking about college; I gotta go back in September and, well, I’m up here and all. Not sure whether I’d be allowed to live down there, so I gotta see if I can commute," Darcy said.

"That will be quite easy, I can take you," Loki said.

"You can? Aren’t you, you know, under house arrest?" Darcy asked.

"I do not actually need to come with you, I can use magic to send you down there and bring you back," Loki replied.

"How will you know when I want to come back?" Darcy asked.

"This," Loki said, crawling a little so that he was closer to her and tapping her ring, lying himself down on his side.

She couldn’t really deny the slight twinge of attraction she just felt for him then; she wasn’t sure whether he’d done it on purpose or not, but it’d had an effect.

"Just hold it and say Asgard. If you are in danger, try to scream or, if you cannot, scratch it multiple times…" Loki said.

"See? You are capable of kindness, just keep it up," Darcy said.

"If you say so, perhaps I just keep you around just in case you change your mind about lying with me," Loki said, and as he spoke this, he slipped ever so gracefully so that he was above her, before closing the gap.

They stared at each other and part of her wondered whether it was just a game on his part, but she wasn’t so sure. He had expressed an interest in it before, though, so she was willing to bet that he was serious. She reached up and put her hands on his chest, pushing lightly. He was strong and, well, she could feel the slight muscle of his pecks.

He had a small smirk on his face, she had to admit he was handsome. Especially with those little smiles.

"You barely know me and I don’t want someone who just likes my…well, I guess my looks," she said.

Loki leant in closer, though made no attempt to kiss her. This was almost worse because he was _so close_ and yet, nothing.

"You are one of those who does not believe they are beautiful?" Loki murmured in a silken voice.

_Shit._

Add this to his list of crimes, being far too attractive for his own good.

"Eh, my confidence comes and goes," Darcy said, pretending not to be effected.

"Hm. What I do know, is that you are an animal lover," Loki murmured.

"Huh? Well, yeah, but how—"

"I saw you through the eyes of the Destroyer. Before that, I may have taken a quick look into Thor’s companionship whilst he was banished," Loki said.

"I-I see. Well, it’s nice to know you were, uh, admiring the view whilst you wrecked havoc," Darcy said, awkwardly.

She felt his forehead touch hers and heard a sigh, which surprised her. He was a little cool to the touch as always, and she felt him take her hands, pin them to the bed though it wasn’t a strong action.

"I apologise. I only wanted—" He stopped.

Darcy found herself wrapping her arms around him despite herself. Even if the brainwashed part of New York was true, there was no real explanation (at least, none she’d heard) given for the New Mexico stint, yet there was something so…so…oh, she didn’t know. She felt like anyone trying to describe Loki was going to have a hard time of it.

He was a bit heavy, but she had a feeling he was making sure not to be _too_ heavy. Maybe Darcy was too soft, but he just seemed like he needed a hug right now. He was clearly not ready to talk. If he was ever going to, she needed to show compassion and patience. Show him that it was worth baring his soul to a stranger.

"You are far too kind, Miss. Lewis," Loki said.

Something about that name gave her a thrill, so she didn’t correct him.

"Make love, not war. Show kindness rather than hatred. I’m still not convinced I’m not dreaming, so it’s okay. Maybe you’re a lot worse than what Thor was when he fell to Earth, but hey, I’ll give you a chance too," Darcy said.

He was silent then, but she didn’t think he was ignoring her. She wiggled a little, though, trying to get more comfortable, and she stopped, realising that he had a bit of a _problem_. He definitely wasn’t lying when he said he’d wanted to lie with her, there was some real hard evidence.

"Okay, I’m flattered, but I think we’ve had enough," Darcy said, a little pink in the cheeks.

He all too readily rolled off her and had his back to her. Huh. She kind of expected him to smirk and carry on torturing her.

Ah, the strangeness of Asgardians. She still wasn’t used to it.


	10. True nature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things never really seem to settle down for Darcy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry for the wait!
> 
> Thanks for all the comments and kudos, I love them. <3
> 
> Enjoy!

Somehow, two months went by with barely an incident. Between her and Loki, that was. He barely talked to her most days, others he made a little effort. She wasn’t all that surprised, considering he was always going hot and cold on her, she was learning to deal with it. Two months as Loki’s wife, three months total spent in Asgard, that was quite a feat. She still had time before college started again, though, so that was pretty neat.

She had heard a lot of whispered talk, though. Not always comprehensible, but when she managed to get close enough without the gossips noticing, she realised they had been talking about her and her marriage to Loki, how horrid they found her choice in men. As if she was mentally unstable or something. Of course, she ignored it, she didn’t need to let sad little gossips like them get to her because she was so much better than that.

The Avengers came and went, welcome whenever they wanted to be here, though they always went back after a little while because they had their duties and Earth was their home. Marlene and her husband had returned home too, since they had decided they wanted their child to be born on Earth and didn’t want to be jumping to and fro, risking anything. Darcy was glad, because it would be super awkward come the whole divorce part. Her parents came every other weekend after work, which she couldn’t complain about.

"What are you going to do after college?" Her mom asked.

"Well, it would be weird not having a job, though Loki insists I don’t need one…I don’t know. I guess I’ll think of that closer to the time as right now, I’ve got college to finish. It’ll probably be easier if I work towards something here, but I also don’t want to forget where I came from. Apparently after so many years I could even get one of those Idunn’s apples to make me immortal, if I so wish, but that’s…I don’t know yet," Darcy said.

"Take your time, sweetie. This is all so different! You shouldn’t rush into it too much," her mom said.

Even if this was for real, she totally agreed. As it was, well, Darcy didn’t need to worry. She supposed it would be bad to jump from Loki to Fandral, not that she was sure he’d even want her. He’d made a comment or two, but she knew he liked to flirt, so it wasn’t really anything to go by.

"Is everything alright, honey? You seem a little distant today," her mom said.

"Oh…yeah, sorry. I’m still getting used to everything and…" Darcy started.

"Are there bullies?" Her dad asked.

"Huh?"

"We’ve seen this before, sweetie, you always went quiet when there were bullies in the past and I know your marriage to Loki might not be accepted by everyone," her dad said.

She blinked; some things never changed and some things were not even different on another planet. There were still bullies, there were still assholes and, well, there was some fuck awesome food. And more. But in this case, it was more passive gossip. It was starting to eat her up, really. Also, Chinese whispers. His actions on Earth were getting horribly exaggerated. She had even, casually, consulted Natasha.

According to the SHIELD agent, Loki had only personally killed some agents when he’d come in and Coulson. That had thrown her a little, but still. As for injuries, there was a couple of policemen injured in his sceptre attack, a man who he’d used some device on and was now left needing surgery on his eye…and the brainwashed agents. None of them had been female, either.

So the goddamned gossip about Loki assaulting Midgardian women was bullshit, as far as Natasha knew and she’d gone through all of the video footage as well. Darcy knew Natasha knew that Darcy was getting some trouble, it just didn’t need words. Her asking about it had tipped the former assassin off.

"It’s okay…don’t worry, if it gets bad, I have Loki and Thor to protect me," Darcy said.

"What is going on, Darcy? Please talk to us," her mom asked.

She sighed. "Some are spreading rumours that Loki was…uncouth with some women, that he is just using me in order to get out of jail…that it will just end with him killing me. Then there’s them saying things about me, that I must be wrong in the head, broken, just as evil, just as sick…to still be with him, you know?" Darcy murmured.

This whole thing was a charade and yet, she felt like it was real in the way she felt about these comments. She felt sad for Loki, though she supposed that not even Natasha could fully confirm what he did completely, especially since there was no guarantee that the brainwashed agents remembered _everything._

Yet the tears fell down her cheeks as she spoke of everything else she had heard, or a lot of it, anyway. That maybe she was using Loki so that she could get onto Asgard, for his money and title, all of it. Her parents held her, wanting to go up and give them a piece of their mind and yet, Darcy insisted that they didn’t. That they were only human in a Godly world. Even if they were not real Gods, they were still so strong.

Once she managed to calm down, she urged her parents to come with her through the gardens. She managed to improve her day, though.

"Hey Fandral!" Darcy said.

The blond warrior walked up to them with a smile and greeted her mom with what seemed to be the normal greeting with a kiss upon the knuckles.

"Good day, I hope you three are all well?" Fandral asked.

Her mom giggled and Darcy rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t blame her; he was quite the charmer.

"We are, yes, thank you. Are you?" Her mom asked.

"Yes, indeed," Fandral said.

"Hey Fandral, I was thinking that it would be fun for my parents to go horse riding, since it’s not really something so common back home," Darcy said. "Would you be our guide?"

"Most certainly; riding a horse is something most Asgardians enjoy very much," Fandral said.

"Does Loki? He seems to like to go against the mold," Darcy said.

"He does, actually. It is Thor who prefers to fly through the air," Fandral said. "It took him quite some time to get over his fear of horses."

Darcy snorted and looked at Fandral with great interest. "Thor was scared of horses?"

"Oh, rats. Oh well, it is far too late now. Yes, when he was young, he accidentally spooked some horses and was trampled, it always took her Majesty quite some time to get him onto one so that they could travel from here to another village, say," Fandral explained.

Darcy rubbed her hands together. "Blackmail material," she joked.

"I see Loki is rubbing off on you in more than one way," Fandral said with a glitter in his eyes.

"Seriously? Seriously, Fandral?" Darcy asked, straight-faced. "Just you wait, I’ll be telling Thor who told me the little horse story. So Thor doesn’t like horses and Loki likes them a little too much, according to myth."

Fandral laughed at that, a little too much humour in his eyes. "Ah, that. The whims of youth," he said.

"I’ll bet you were the one who spread that little nugget," Darcy said.

"Let me guess, blackmail material?" Fandral asked.

"Of course. Now get us some horses," Darcy said.

 

* * *

 

Darcy said goodbye to her parents later that day and Fandral took her back to the palace. They had just walked into the entryway when they heard the commotion. Thor was shouting something, but honestly, it was such a blur that she didn’t quite get what he was saying. She and Fandral rushed to the scene, only to stop and see Thor dragging a bound Loki towards God knows where. She ran to him.

"Thor, what’s going on?" Darcy asked.

"He was caught out of the palace and threatening a few members of the nobility, and when I got to him, I saw him punch a man in the gut," Thor growled.

Darcy looked at Loki, but he was looking away from her. Frankly, she was hurt that he’d do this. Weren’t they getting somewhere? Sure, he’d been quiet with her over the last two months, but he wasn’t cruel. Was she starting to care about him? Or maybe she just didn’t want her effort to go to waste. She didn’t truly know.

"How could you, Loki?" Darcy asked quietly.

"What is going on here?"

Darcy turned her head to see Frigga walking up to them. She was relieved; maybe his mother could get something out of him, because she never seemed to have such luck.

"Loki…" Frigga murmured.

She looked at Thor, who explained what had happened, and she was about to speak when a number of guards came and took hold of Loki.

"His Majesty has asked us to escort Loki to the dungeons," one of them said.

And they did. Though the Queen had great authority, she didn’t speak up for the time being, but Darcy didn’t doubt that she would rectify this somehow. She had a look in her eyes.

"Thor, who are the people involved? That he threatened?" Frigga asked.

Thor listed some names, and Frigga walked off. Darcy looked at Thor, who looked tired.

"He did not struggle when I found him and cuffed him, which surprised me," Thor said. "I thought he was doing well. I do not understand."

Darcy followed him into a smaller room where they could talk more privately. She noticed that Fandral had disappeared, but it was more of a fleeting thought as she sat down with Thor, both having no clue as to what to say, what to think…

"I am truly sorry, Darcy, there is nothing in this universe I could say or do to make it up to you, to undo this. Perhaps it would have been better if I had just let him go to prison in the first place," Thor said.

Darcy put her hand on his arm. "Hey, you love your brother, you saw hope in him and besides, I would have said no if I had truly wanted to. I did have a wobble sometime before the wedding, but I made my decision," Darcy said.

"I do not know what will happen now, but if you wish it, you can be divorced very—" Thor started.

"Thor, I don’t know, just…I need to speak with him, okay? You asked me to help your brother and he’s given me his Asgardian credit jewelry, so I am enjoying some benefit from it," Darcy said. "I’ll talk to him and if it goes okay, maybe we can reduce him to a bedroom grounding."

"Grounding?" Thor asked.

"On Earth, when kids are naughty, we get grounded. Not allowed out of the house or even to play on certain things. He’d be limited to his room. Maybe he can be forced into community service, I don’t know. Maybe after a month, he gets the option to apologise and maybe gets let out after that. Loki did a bad thing, he’s not gonna be good after only two months," Darcy said.

Thor stared at her for a few moments before speaking. "You think there’s hope?"

"Maybe. We’ve interacted in private and he’s been pretty decent, honestly this behaviour today kinda surprised me," Darcy said. "But I may not be the best judge."

"For now, we can only wait as mother investigates the case," Thor said.

 

* * *

 

Fandral walked down into the dungeons, nodding to the guards and found Loki’s cell. He was sat on the floor against the wall, though he only had the choice of the floor or standing, as there was no furniture. As it should be for prisons, Fandral always thought. He’d heard stories of beds and other such things in prison cells, which seemed a little too luxurious for criminals.

"Loki," he said, no humour in his voice for once.

No answer. Not even a glance, though he knew the Prince knew he was there.

"That was a bad move, Loki. I had thought that you had been making progress," Fandral said. "What _happened_ , Loki? I mean not of today, but everything. Ever since we went to Jotunheim, nay, I dare say it started before that. Thor’s coronation. I know you have had a certain amount of resentment for Thor being cherished more than yourself. Honestly, I understand, especially with your different interests and how—"

"Leave, Fandral. I do not care for your blather," Loki said.

"No, Loki. Do you not realise? You have a wife, brother and mother out there worried about you. And believe it or not, you are still my—" Fandral started.

Loki stood up so quickly with a snarl. "Do _not_ call yourself friend! You are no friend of mine, you who went down to Midgard with those fools," he spat.

Fandral at least had the decency to look sheepish at that one.

"Believe me, Loki, either choice I made, I would have lost. You are intelligent Loki, I am quite sure you know very well that I would have been locked up had I taken your side, especially since I had an awful feeling you were not quite as honourable as I had hoped," Fandral said.

He stared at the glaring God and they remained quiet for a few moments.

"Honestly, you need to get your act together; it is quite unfair that you have Darcy and yet you are squandering your chances with her," Fandral said.

Loki narrowed his eyes at him as expected. "You like Darcy?"

"She is very attractive, Loki, I am not blind. She is also rather charming. It is such a waste because you, apparently, prefer to wallow away in here while causing her grief," Fandral said.

"Perhaps she is better off without me," Loki said. "Maybe even with you, if you were serious."

"For Yggdrasil’s sake, Loki, snap out of it! She loves _you_. Can you not see that?  If you cannot try for yourself, try for _her_ ," Fandral said. "Because I, for one, do not wish to see her with another man."

"You need to stop caring, Fandral. All of you," Loki said.

Fandral stared at him some more and shook his head. "It seems to me like you are trying to push us away, but you will only hurt yourself in the end. Loneliness never suited you."

He turned around and walked out, not believing that he could get any further.

 

* * *

 

Loki watched Fandral go in silence and remembered back to a number of hours ago…

 

He had been slinking around the palace, not feeling like any company and yet not wanting to be in his room. He had done this in the past, skulked around in the shadows and listened in on some of the goings on in the place. Not something those who ever noticed appreciated, but he didn’t really care for what they thought.

Loki stopped outside a room that was currently occupied by Darcy and her parents. He made sure not to be seen by any of them, but he couldn’t help but eavesdrop. The conversation was normal at first, so much so that he was about to walk off, but then it seemed like there was some bullying going on, that Darcy was being subjected to comments from some Asgardians. This made him stay and listen. The comments about him were not surprising nor did he care. They were well-founded.

It was the comments about Darcy that made him frown, and further explanation made him purse his lips. Darcy, evil? Broken? Using him for his title and money, not caring how she got it. There were many women in the past that had wanted to court him for that reason, many who had managed and he had only realised later, yet this woman was so completely different to them.

He did not like to do it, but he turned on his rarely used ability to see into another’s mind, using it on Darcy. He was careful not to see too much, just names or faces. As it was, she knew only a few of the names, but the faces were enough and he found out exactly what they said about her.

He snapped the ability off and walked off, hands clenched and green sparks crackling around them.

 

Loki was careful to unleash some magic upon a tree before he visited the first person, his anger a little abated, enough not to do anything too drastic. He doubted Darcy would care for such a thing, but the idea that these people were spreading such disgusting rumours, saying such things…it reminded him terribly of the time he spent hiding from people because they thought him rather womanly.

So he threatened a good number of them, pinning them to the wall with magic or his hand, and he was caught after punching a particular man after he had said something particularly vile. He had wanted to do more, but the oaf had stopped him.

 

And now, here he was, in jail. He supposed it was fitting, really. It was where he belonged and he wouldn’t deny it. Even if he could not feel Darcy’s body next to his. Yet he was rather mean to her. It was better that way, better not to risk her garnering any feelings for him, not that he thought she could, but it had been quick enough for him to find her ever so appealing, he didn’t want to get to know her and make it any worse.

Oh, what he would do with the time gem.


	11. God of Mischief? More like God of Stubbornness!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy is baffled by Loki's behaviour, but Frigga is determined that her son is not without hope. So, what is any down in the dumps girl to do than arrange a nicely little girly getaway!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise to everyone for the wait. I got a new computer, thought I'd put my fanfiction onto onedrive...nope, apparently not and then my old laptop's wire went missing. 
> 
> Good news is I have a couple of chapters to upload so enjoy! Hopefully. xD

Darcy still couldn’t believe that Loki was in prison for threatening people. Part of her wanted to go down there and get an explanation, but she also knew she wouldn’t get one. He was just hopeless and stubborn, didn’t want to admit that he had a good chance and he was wasting it. She lay in her bed for a while, going out to eat and then returning. She wasn’t too sure why she was so affected, but she kind of missed him. In the end, she’d told Thor that maybe he should stay in a cell for a time, then maybe be put on bedroom arrest for a while. Work his way up. She would go down and talk to him in time, just not right now. 

She found it awkward hanging around the warriors, save for Fandral, because of her association with Loki. Especially now. She found herself outside a small lounge and overheard them speaking. 

"I have not heard anything about a divorce. I do not understand why Darcy would continue her hopeless interest in Loki," Sif said. 

"Sif!" Fandral exclaimed, chastisement in his tone.

"Ah, spoken by a woman who does not know love like I do; it is not quite that simple, Sif," Volstagg said, chuckling heartily. 

"Do you not care that she has married him?" Sif asked.

"If Thor turned evil, you would continue to love him, no?" Volstagg asked.

Darcy’s eyebrows rose.

There was a brief silence before: "H-how do you—quiet!" Sif hissed.

"Loki thought, as the mortals say, sharing was caring. He has always been so observant," Volstagg said. 

By the humour in his voice, Darcy could tell that he just found the whole thing rather funny. 

"I would ask that you keep quiet from now on," Sif said stiffly.

"Nay, Sif. Answer my question," Volstagg said.

"He would never, he is not so dishonourable," Sif said. 

"There was a time when Loki was not either," Fandral inputted. "Your prejudice has clouded your mind, Sif, so do answer. You are rather boring us with your inability to answer a simple question."

"I do not see the point in answering a ridiculous question, one that would never come to pass. Loki has always been rather shifty. Perhaps it had only been a matter of time until he showed his true colours," Sif said. 

"Ah and I see how you have shown your true colours," Fandral said. "Honestly, Sif, I think we made a mistake in going down to retrieve Thor so quickly back then. Perhaps if those who supposedly called him friend made an effort to reach out to him, we could have stopped his darker plans."

"I can understand Thor, he is his brother, but why are you so invested in sticking up for Loki?" Sif asked. 

"He is my friend, which apparently was never the case for you. You know that human girl would never have married Loki if she did not think there was hope for him and, quite frankly, I have more faith in her than I do you," Fandral said. "I think I am going to refrain from spending my time with you in the future; you are simply too stubborn for your own good."

Fandral walked out and Darcy tried to move away as soon as she saw him, but it was too late.

"Darcy? How long have you been here?" Fandral asked.

"I’m sorry, I eavesdropped. Man, Sif’s really…" Darcy said.

Fandral hooked his arm in hers and led her away. "Forget about her, she has disliked Loki for centuries. How about we go for a ride?" Fandral said. "Have you seen Loki yet?"

"Yeah, that sounds like fun! No, I haven’t seen him. I’m kinda nervous and I just…I just need time. I feel like it’s really hard getting through to him and one moment he’s sweet and the next he’s threatening people," Darcy said with a sigh.

"Loki has always been a complicated fellow. He is…ah, a lot different from most men. I would say he is a lot more emotional, he has a habit of hiding his hurts where others have it out. Our society is not quite as golden as our architecture. I think you are right, Darcy. The world is not simply black and white, there is a grey area," Fandral said. "What we did on Jotunheim, for example, was not good. We followed Thor blindly because he persuaded us and we thought everything he did was good."

"Can you tell me about what happened there? Like, everything to do with Thor’s coronation, banishment and all I don’t know about the incident," Darcy asked.

"Of course," Fandral said.

 

* * *

 

 

Darcy sat in Loki’s bed hours later, having listened to Fandral’s story and gone for a ride on horses with him. Of course, she was temporarily using the bed, for the year at least, but she couldn’t really think of it as anything but Loki’s. She tried to do some reading, but all she could think about was the story. Loki had been envious of Thor, he had let Frost Giants in to ruin the coronation and he had later planned to destroy Jotunheim. He had managed to damage some of it, though.

Maybe Loki could do with a psychiatrist. She didn’t know; if he wasn’t willing to talk to her, though, then she wasn’t sure that would be a good idea after all. Thor had offered her a get out clause, but she was determined to see this through. It just needed some more time and clearly a lot of patience. Something she’d had so far, so she needed to keep at it. When the going gets tough, you simply didn’t just ditch at first light. No, she wasn’t that kind of person. 

She got out of bed then and decided to finally go and see him. Darcy had to ask for directions but she got there in the end, finding the cell in the middle where Loki was sat against a wall. She got as close as she could possibly get to him. 

"Loki…" 

He looked at her. "Darcy…why are you here? Why do you care?" He asked softly. 

"It’s not for show or anything, I just…why? Why did you do that?" Darcy asked. 

He shrugged. "I felt like it," he said.

"Liar."

He looked at her again. "You are wasting your breath, your time…I do not see why you do not just return to Midgard where you belong, away from everything here, all of the pressure and the stigma," Loki said. 

"I’m in this whether you like it or not. I made my own decision and I’m sticking to it. You’re just going to have to get used to it. Is that what this is? Your attempt to scare me away?" Darcy asked. "Because I’ve seen you do good things. You’re just…acting up, being stupid."

Silence. 

"I’ll be back," Darcy said. 

 

* * *

 

 

For the next month, Darcy visited everyday and she talked about silly things, mainly. Clearly he didn’t want to answer her, so she would talk to him about things like her rides with Fandral, how he was teaching her how to fight because she thought it might be a good idea considering how involved with the supernatural she was now. How Fandral had stopped talking to Sif. She talked about the Avengers’ visits, how Tony kept wondering whether the Hulk could smash the Bifrost and how the warriors had been quick to squash any attempts he might make.

Clearly their sense of when Tony was joking was terrible, but that wasn’t a difficult thing. Tony was always joking and sometimes the chore was finding out when he was serious. 

Thor and Jane, of course, were growing more and more madly in love by the day, it seemed, and she admitted that she was a little disappointed she couldn’t pseudo-try and compete with them. She’d given Loki a meaningful stare then. He didn’t react.

But in some ways, she felt like she could be making progress. He was sitting closer to her as the days went on, sideways to her. It beat him facing further away. Darcy didn’t really know why, but sometimes she wished she could just get in there and hold him, because sometimes he looked so down. Then there were the attempts to push her away, but they seemed rather weak. She knew what he was capable of, knew he could say such scathing words and yet, he didn’t. 

Darcy was seriously starting to wonder how she could care so much for someone who had caused so much devastation and yet refuses to even talk about it, talk about why he did the things he did. Sure she had seen some softer sides to him, nicer sides, but then was that all an act? It couldn’t have been, considering he spent so much time being the opposite too. 

She rubbed her forehead as she entered the main hallway of the palace after one particular trip. Maybe she needed a break. 

So she organised a little girly getaway. 

She approached Jane first, since she was her closest girlfriend around. 

"Hey, Jane, what do you say we take a break, just us girls? I’m thinking of inviting my mom, Pepper and Natasha…maybe even Frigga," Darcy said.

"That sounds great, Darcy!" Jane said. "Where do you want to go?"

"Well, according to Fandral there are some nice resorts on Alfheim and Vanaheim, ones that do massages and all that too. I can pay for it all with Loki’s money, I dare say we deserve it," Darcy said. 

"That’s a hard choice," Jane said. "I have heard good things about both." 

"I’m thinking Alfheim; it sounds slightly more relaxing," Darcy said. "Now I just need to get to Natasha and Pepper."

 

"Sure, why not. It could be fun," Natasha responded with a smirk. "I’m not overly familiar with girly retreats, but I’ve been told I need to relax more, so I’m open to trying."

"Awesome. I’m thinking massages, saunas, jacuzzis…apparently Alfheim has something of the sorts," Darcy said. "Is Pepper here?"

"She’ll be back in a few hours; Tony took her out to some restaurant that he thought she’d like. We’ll see how that goes," Natasha said with a small smile.

"Poor Tony, but he is pretty hit and miss with his romantic gestures. I heard about the bunny," Darcy said. 

"Still, Pepper could do a lot worse, he really does try and, honestly, someone who got everything perfect would be boring," Natasha said. 

"Yeah, plus when she can’t handle things herself, he can protect her. I hear he’s making her a suit," Darcy said.

"You heard correctly, though it’s a surprise…whether a good one or a bad one, who knows?" Natasha said.

"You’re on a roll."

 

"How was your date?" Darcy asked.

"Oh, it was wonderful. He took me to this very nice restaurant in Paris, one that he must have booked ages ago because that place never has openings. It was beautiful, we were next to the window, the Eiffel tower in view…" Pepper started.

Darcy took her left hand, unable to wait, but there was nothing there. 

"Sorry, carry on…" Darcy said, a little embarrassed.

Pepper laughed. "I actually wondered whether this was a build up, but no. I know he does plan to, though. He doesn’t know this, but I overheard him talking to Bruce. I don’t know when it will be, though, but gosh," Pepper said. 

Darcy found herself jumping up and down, hugging her. "Oh my God! I mean, it’s not happened yet, but it’s so cool!" She said. 

Pepper smiled widely. "I can’t wait to see what he ends up doing for it," she said.

"It’ll be spectacular; this is Tony we’re talking about," Darcy said. 

Pepper smiled. "I have a feeling you have a question?"

"I sure do! Do you want to go on a girly vacation with us? We’re thinking Alfheim, maybe a week…spa stuff," Darcy said. "Jane and Natasha are up for it so far, gonna ask my mom while I’m here, Marlene unfortunately won’t come since she’s done with travelling for now. Gonna ask Frigga too."

"That sounds great, though I will need to check my sch—" Pepper started, but Tony had come up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist and put a finger to her lips.

"She’s available. Just make sure I get her back at the end," Tony said. 

"Damn, I wanted to steal her forever," Darcy said. 

"Ah ah! Now now, sparky, you do that and I will create a space suit and come after you," Tony said. 

Pepper rolled her eyes. "When are you thinking of having this vacation?" Pepper asked.

"As soon as possible. Monday to Monday? We’ll need time to pack, of course. I’m paying, or rather, Loki is. It’s the least he can do for us," Darcy said with a wink. 

"That sounds fine to me, I should go and start getting organised," Pepper said.

 

So her mom couldn’t come, but she’d invite her for a mother/daughter thing some other time. When there was more notice and organisation. Darcy had stayed the night while Pepper and Natasha packed their things and the three of them were brought back to Asgard via Bifrost. 

She went to find Frigga, who was in her tapestry room as she had guessed. Darcy couldn’t even begin to imagine being able to sew never mind make tapestry. She badly wanted to learn how to knit, but that looked so difficult, she could never understand it. How cool it would be if she could make her own little hats. She hadn’t worn one in a while, though she still only dressed up like an Asgardian at certain events. Like hell she was giving that up too. 

"Hello, Darcy. I see you are here with a question and I think I will take you up on your invitation," Frigga smiled.

"Seriously, that’s so cool. Can you predict my future at will?" Darcy asked, sitting next to her.

Frigga took her hand and, after a few moments, smiled. "I think you should get there on your own, my dear," she said. "But yes, I do know what lies ahead of you."

"Is it good, at least? Do I find a handsome man or a beautiful lady to spend my life with?" Darcy asked. 

"You do, and sooner than you think," Frigga answered.

"Yes! I have to admit, part of me kind of worried that all this would be the highlight of my life and then I’ll go back and end up finding no one," Darcy said. "Not that romance is the be all and end all, but it would be very nice. Oh, no offence or anything, I just mean…"

"It is quite alright. Your marriage to my son is a favour to us, there will never be anything we can do to quite return it," Frigga said. 

"It’s okay, you don’t have to. Plus, I’ve got this," Darcy said, holding up Loki’s little credit stick.

Frigga chuckled. "There is hope for him yet," she said.

"You think?  I mean, he’s recently threatened people…" Darcy said.

"I do not believe that is quite as simple as we think. I suppose it sounds like motherly bias, but…my son was never like this. He never attacked anyone without reason," Frigga said.

"I’ve been going down and talking to him everyday, but he’s so far not explained himself," Darcy said.

"You are very kind, Darcy. I hope that your kindness can get through to him," Frigga said.

"I don’t think I’d have that much influence over him. I guess we’ll just have to see what happens. Any word on his release?" Darcy asked.

"I have spoken to both Thor and Odin. Thor told me of your suggestion and Odin has allowed it. We will release him after you have returned; I think your presence when he is out is strongly recommended. You may not believe it, but you do have an effect on him," Frigga said. 

"If you say so. I mean, he has been pretty nice to me at times, others kinda cold, which is the expected response, to be honest," Darcy said. "You’re a pretty inspiring mother, you know? You remind me of my mom, except my mom’s never carried a sword, so."

Frigga laughed at that, shaking her head. "My dear, it would surprise me. Asgard and Midgard are so very different. Swords are no longer in play there, unless for recreation, as far as I am aware," Frigga said. 

"Pretty much. Renaissance fairs and all that," Darcy said. "They’re pretty awesome, maybe you guys would like to check one out. It might remind you of olden Earth times or it might make you point out all the flaws."

She laughed at that. It was something she saw Loki doing. ‘They did not finish these spears this way, that carriage does not have nearly enough oil in the wheels.’ And so on. It was just too bad that Loki was under house arrest, now room arrest. If he will make things difficult! Still, she would tell him all about these fairs she had been to, maybe pique his curiosity. After all, if he was curious and wanted to see something, he would have to behave and work towards being able to venture outside of Asgard!

Although, he had snuck out that one time…and again recently…

"Hey, what’s stopping Loki from leaving Asgard? I mean, he’s magic and all that," Darcy said. 

Frigga sighed, which made her wonder exactly what was going on. 

"He is bespelled, and he does know this. He cannot leave without Thor physically and willingly taking him, which of course will not be allowed for some time," Frigga said. 

"That’s good, I mean, he needs to earn back the trust and make amends. Will he get the opportunity to perhaps do some community service of sorts on Earth?" Darcy asked. 

"You are not the first to bring it up; your world’s heroes have been discussing as such, after all, this is an unusual situation for them. It is for us; it is our own bias that gives us leverage to give Loki a second chance," Frigga said. "I just wish he would show signs of wanting such. He is being ever so different."

"Late rebellious phase? Did he have one of those?" Darcy asked. "I ran away from home for a bit when I was a teenager. Scared the living crap out of my parents, but after a while I settled down. After all, I didn’t get to eat much of my mom’s great mince beef pie."

"He has always enjoyed playing tricks, but rebellion was more Thor’s area of expertise. Of course, when the two of them put their minds together, they caused a lot of problems. They were very protective of each other as well. A group of thugs insulted Thor and there Loki was, defending him, I dare say the thugs ran away with their tails between their legs," Frigga said. "It was the same when Loki was slighted."

"It’s kind of hard to imagine now, huh. Loki doesn’t show Thor much love, though he did fight alongside him a little while ago. That’s gotta be something, right?" Darcy said. 

"It certainly is."


	12. Girls just wanna have fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy and her friends find themselves rather impressed with their lovely retreat.
> 
> And taverns never hurt anyone either. Drinking games!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one, yay!

Monday arrived and she and the girls had their cases all ready to go. All they were waiting on now was Queen Frigga’s arrival.

Darcy had told Thor to make sure Jane didn’t pack up her lab, but they had relented at the telescope on the proviso that she not spend all night looking through it. Darcy thought it was great that she was so passionate, but the woman was such a workaholic and she needed to slow down and eat sometimes. Forgetting was indeed a bad habit of hers.

When Frigga arrived, however, she came with an unexpected companion. Sif.

"I hope you do not mind, but I thought it might be nice for Sif to join us," Frigga said with a smile. 

Darcy wondered whether Frigga knew how she felt about Sif, considering her Sight, but otherwise it was the kind of situation where she brought in the other woman without knowing what was going on. Here, well, who even knew. 

"Um, sure, why not?" Darcy replied diplomatically.

After all, it would be bitchy to turn her away. 

"Though, uh, it’s probably best you pay for yourself," Darcy said. She doubted Loki wanted his money spent on Sif. "No offence."

"Well, of course," Sif said. 

Somehow, she looked uncomfortable in her easy tunic and whatnot. Darcy didn’t know her all that well, only that she hated Loki with a passion and Darcy didn’t know why. Ah well, they would see how she was outside her armour and away from the warriors and battle. 

"Let’s go to the Bifrost, then," Darcy said. 

She walked alongside Natasha, who leant in. "Has something happened? Between her and you. You seem rather reluctant," she whispered.

"Yeah, I kinda overheard her talking. But I’ll tell you later, it’s something we need drinks for," Darcy replied. 

Natasha was so goddamned observant, but in this case it was so helpful. She wasn’t sure she could cope with having Sif around and not have any of her friends know what’s going on. The only problem was getting her three human girlfriends alone without leaving Frigga and Sif out. She didn’t want to be that girl. She wasn’t a bitch.

They got to the observatory and, quickly, they were transported to Alfheim, which was automatically the prettiest place ever. They were next to a large, beautiful white building and it was set on some sort of great mountain, where they could see so far into the distance, trees, grass, flowers and there was a lake below. Other mountains, little white homes below. 

Everything about it all screamed relaxation. 

"This is awesome! I love it already!" Darcy said.

Frigga led them inside and she could already see how well-known the Asgardian royal family was as she saw all the curtseying and politeness. After a few moments, a couple of the elven women who worked there came up to her. 

"Your Highness, please follow us," one elven girl said.

"Wait, you’re Halsia, right? You were at my wedding!" Darcy said.

The girl beamed and nodded her head. "I was, I appreciated the invitation; I was once Her Majesty’s chambermaid until I started working here," Halsia said. 

There was a mix of elven and other employees, who she assumed must be Vanir because the three who weren’t elves twirled their wrists and their baggage disappeared.

"Your things are in your rooms. Please follow us," another girl said.

"You should totally hang out with us when you are not working, Halsia," Darcy said.

The elven girl smiled at that. "Thank you," she said.

Darcy had discussed the sleeping arrangements just yesterday and they’d figured that the four of them would share and Frigga wanted her own space. When they opened the door, by God, the room was beautiful. It reminded her a little of the Japanese traditional homes, except with, obviously, differences. The beds were quite low, closer to the floor. The floors were wooden, that wasn’t a surprise, but there were floor to ceiling square windows and the middle one had water flowing down it like their very own fountain.

"I want to live here," Darcy said.

"You already have a palace," Pepper laughed.

"But-but…look at it!" Darcy said. "It has a window fountain!" 

"They are actually rather common on Alfheim, sometimes all windows are like this," Frigga explained.

Darcy rushed over to the window and looked out; the view was insane. 

"Does it look this good out of every window? On Earth, in some places, you pay more for a sea view," Darcy said. 

"The view may be different, but no less beautiful. That is one of the reasons why they set this place here," Frigga said.

Darcy looked into one of the adjoining rooms to see a walk in wardrobe and another was the large bathroom, one that had a separate section for the toilets and one for the…bath. It was a little like Loki’s except for it being larger. She wondered if it was supposed to be a sharing bath, like a hot spring, but it didn’t really matter too much as she wandered back into the main room. 

"Although, are there curtains?" Darcy asked.

"There is a panel where it will darken the glass, that works just the same," Frigga said with a smile.

"Awesome," Darcy said.

 

After choosing beds, they decided to wander around the place, get a feeling for it. So far she was loving it, with its delicate beauty and serenity. Halsia said that there were a few groups here, but it sounded like they were the only ones, it was so quiet. Maybe they would be the loud ones. Darcy hoped they would tell them if they were, because it would suck if they were suffering in silence.

There was also some really relaxing music playing in the background, along the corridors and everywhere they went; even the gardens. It was just the four of them, as the two Asgardians had decided to do their own thing, and Darcy was glad to find a nice bench they could all sit at. 

"Some alone time!" Darcy said.

"So, fess up, Darcy. You and Sif," Natasha said, getting straight to the point. 

"You really don’t waste time. Okay, so just after Loki was thrown in jail for threatening a few people, I was just about to enter the room she and the warriors were in. Sif was talking badly about Loki, wondering why I continued on with my hopeless marriage. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a sham, but…is it weird that I wanted to rush in there and defend myself, even Loki?" Darcy asked.

"No," Pepper said. "I worked for Stark Industries for a long time, and to be quite honest with you, I considered quitting a whole bunch of times, I wasn’t overly keen on the weapons part. I’d only joined because my dad had been a bit of a friend with Tony’s dad and I was hired more as a favour. At the time I was searching for a job, the market was awful. When it boomed again, I had a few opportunities, but I’d ended up finding something wrong in the numbers, got to Tony by pepper spraying my way there and helped him."

"You couldn’t help it; you’re a helpful lady. Organised, basically awesome," Darcy said.

"Thank you, Darcy. I guess, in the end I got too comfortable and I wanted to help him, I think he needed someone…and I guess I grew fond of him," Pepper said. "So I’d end up defending him even when he was someone who created weapons. In the end, he changed all that."

"And who knows, maybe you can make a good man out of him," Natasha said. 

"Oh don’t get that song in my head, I couldn’t get it out for months this time last year," Darcy groaned. 

Natasha grinned at her. 

"That’s awesome, Pepper. You know, we need a girly drinking game night, to spill all kinds of naughty secrets,"  Darcy said. 

"Oh dear lord," Jane groaned. 

Yeah, that was pretty much the reaction Darcy had been expecting; they were all gonna be wondering what it was like to be with a God. Darcy’s situation didn’t really count, though she was quite sure that they would find questions to ask anyway. 

"I wish we had drinks right now, for it’s the perfect moment. I love Frigga, but I’m not sure how comfortable I would be spilling this kind of stuff around her," Darcy said with a laugh. "Maybe there’s some kind of bar or the like nearby. A tavern, I think they call ‘em."

"There is one in the village below; I asked Frigga before we booked this place. A good retreat is nothing without the option of drinks," Natasha said. 

"Okay, you’re awesome, can I keep you?" Darcy asked.

"I think Loki would be jealous," Natasha said. 

"Dammit." 

"It’s going to be a little awkward here with Sif…she always seems a little overly polite with me," Jane said.

"Yeah, that’s coz Sif’s in love with Thor. Her loss, she never told the guy, how’s he supposed to know?" Darcy said.

"Now that’s really awkward. Thanks, Darce!" Jane said, jokingly.

"Not your problem. By the way, Natasha, can we call you Nat?" Darcy asked.

Natasha looked like she was thinking really hard for a moment before smiling. "I’ll allow it."

"Woo!" Darcy said, punching the air with both fists. "Not that I can’t be bothered with Natasha, I just thought I’d ask."

"And you’re Darce, Jane…well, yours is short already," Natasha pointed out.

"She’s Janey, you make short names longer for pet names," Darcy said.

"Darcy…" Jane sighed. 

"I don’t make the rules," Darcy said innocently.

 

They got back to the building a few hours later, their conversation interrupted by the need to eat. What had only felt like maybe half an hour had turned into hours and it was decidedly lunch time. Halsia led them to a private dining room where the tables were close to the floor, ones they would kneel at. She was glad Loki wasn’t here because she didn’t need him and his kneeling obsession. 

The food was quite heavy, quite big, kind of like eating dinner at lunch.

"Light Elves will generally eat something light of a morning, a big meal at lunch and something smaller at dinner, though bigger than breakfast. What they have served here is very nice, very traditional here on Alfheim. There will be options to try food from the other realms, however, I thought it might be nice to start with something local," Frigga explained.

"It looks absolutely delicious," Pepper said. 

Darcy tucked in and groaned, almost wishing she’d had sex so she could say that stereotypical line of ‘this is better than sex.’ That was a very weird thought. She couldn’t help but see Loki’s narrowed eyes in her mind, but she shook it away. 

"I’m going to have to fire Tony as chef and get the chef from here in because this is so good. No, that’s a terrible word for it, this is beautiful," Pepper said.

"Tony cooks?" Darcy and Jane asked in unison, making Natasha laugh. 

"He does, he just doesn’t advertise it and if asked, he tends to just shrug and say some sort of nonsense," Pepper said. "He’s really very good, though. He’s a perfectionist, too. According to him, he learnt to cook because he figured it was no different to Chemistry, the right ingredients and so on."

"That’s a reasonable theory, actually, but I still don’t manage it," Jane said.

"Yeah, don’t try her cooking, it’s like eating cardboard," Darcy said.

"Thanks, Darce," Jane said.

Darcy grinned. It was playful between them, though. After all, it was the truth and Jane was the one who originally came up with that description. It tasted awful and that was that. There was nothing else to be said about it. Her own cooking was fine, but she was no master chef. She just wasn’t focused enough to try to improve. Her mom, on the other hand, cooked so well she didn’t think she could copy it even if she practised. 

She noticed Sif hadn’t said a word, sat on the other side of Frigga, quietly eating her food. She wanted to try and include her, but Darcy honestly was stumped in what to say. Especially since hearing the stuff she did. She didn’t even know if the woman even liked her, let alone wanted to talk to her. Maybe she was just over-thinking and Sif actually would prefer to just be left alone. There were people like that and that was a-okay.

"Darcy, we hate to abandon you when you have invited us here so graciously, but Sif and I need to attend to some business here tonight, will you be alright? I have requested that Vorya, a warrior, accompany you. Keeping her distance, of course, just for your protection. It is very doubtful that you will run into trouble and I know Natasha is formidable, however I do not want to take risks," Frigga said.

"Oh, that’s fine, we have a whole week and let’s face it, if anyone wants alone time, I say go for it," Darcy said. 

"Thank you, Darcy, you are very considerate," Frigga said. 

Darcy looked at Pepper and wriggled her eyebrows at her. They knew what they were doing tonight and, honestly, if it didn’t distract her, she’d invite Vorya to take part in their, to quote Thor, ‘merry making.’ Still, a girls’ night out with alcohol, this was going to be awesome.

 

It was very, very much awesome.

They had a good booth in a corner, sat close together. It was pretty quiet for a tavern, which looked just like an English pub, one of those really old ones. They had their glasses of wine, ready for their game.

"Okay, we’re gonna play questions. If you refuse to answer, you drink double, if you haven’t got a fun answer, you drink," Darcy said. "Something like that, anyway." 

"Me first. Jane, have you and Thor done the deed?" Natasha asked with a smirk.

Jane sighed, having clearly expected this answer. Darcy patted her shoulder in sympathy, but she wasn’t too sympathetic to not want an answer to that question herself.

"Yes, we have," Jane said. "It was…well, amazing."

"Did you see stars?" Darcy asked with a grin. 

Jane rolled her eyes and shoved Darcy, who snickered. "Answer the question!"

"I guess so? It was pretty mind-blowing," Jane said. 

"Was—" 

"My turn. Darcy, have you and Loki kissed outside of the pretence?" Jane asked. 

"Yeah, we have, I think Loki just likes to tease me and likes to kiss," Darcy said with a shrug. "Better than being violent. I just hope the dumbass learns his lesson, but I don’t know."

"My turn, Pepper, what’s it like with Tony? Is he as good as the hype?" Darcy asked.

"Yes. Oddly, he’s never once boasted about his skills, but I guess rumours will run riot. Yeah, he’s pretty damn good in bed, and he’s attentive. Very attentive. I don’t know whether that’s because of the change or whether that’s always been something he’s been good at, just maybe not the whole commitment and getting rid of girls part, but either way, I have no complaints," Pepper said. "It’s the other stuff that sometimes grates on me, but then, I doubt I’m perfect either."

"Pfft, you’re awesome, Pepper," Darcy said, taking  swig of her drink. "He dotes on you, man. He looks at you when you’re not looking in such a tender way, like he can’t quite believe you’re there, making him happy." 

"Aww, Darce," Pepper said, rubbing her cheek a little. 

"I wonder if the guys play these games," Darcy pondered out loud. "I bet the boys argue over whose girlfriend is better. Personally, we’re all awesome. Natasha’s an awesome friend…wait, I am right, right? You don’t have a partner?"

"You’re correct," Natasha said. "I don’t feel a pressing need to find a partner, though. I’m quite happy with friends."

"Yeaaah! Friends, romance, whatever! It’s all awesome," Darcy said.

"If we played take a shot everytime you said something was awesome, we’d be dead by now," Jane teased her.

"Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome. Go on, take those shots now, bitches," Darcy said. She blinked. "Sorry, I get like this when I drink with girlfriends."

"That’s okay. You’ve been my bitch for some time now," Natasha said, and Darcy wasn’t sure how serious she was.

"You’re a spooky good actress…or telling the truth. Yikes, I really don’t know," Darcy said, pretending to wipe the sweat off her forehead. 

"You’ll never know," Natasha said. 

"Darcy, do you think anything real has passed between you and Loki? And has anything gotten heated at all?" Pepper asked. 

"Hmm…well, I know he wouldn’t mind sleeping with me, and there was physical proof, but I don’t think he wants to pursue it, especially since I don’t," Darcy said.

"Why not? It would be a fun experience, right? In that living for the moment way," Natasha said.

"I don’t know. With the way he’s acting right now, I don’t think I could. And shouldn’t you be against it? He did brainwash your best friend…" Darcy said. 

Natasha sighed and looked at the ceiling. "I can’t describe it. Honestly, if I thought he was truly terrible, I would not have set foot on Asgard. The thing is, from what I’ve heard from Thor, I honestly don’t see why he didn’t win. Between him, one Infinity Stone, one powerful artifact and his army, it was a ridiculously easy defeat," Natasha said. 

"You think so?" Darcy asked.

"Yes. I don’t think we have all of the puzzle pieces, if I’m honest with you," Natasha said. "But, that’s not really something we need to worry about. We can’t really prove anything right now and it doesn’t change the fact that he did terrible things. I’m willing to eventually forgive him if he’s willing to make amends, as a person. As Clint’s friend, it’ll depend on if he can get better and get past it. I have a lot of blood on my own hands, I can relate to Loki, if just a little. Especially since I killed more people with my own hands than him."

"Wow, seriously, it’s amazing how neutral you can be," Darcy said. "Maybe neutral’s not the word I’m looking for." 

"Something like that. Diplomatic, too," Natasha said. "You have to be able to observe without letting personal feelings get in the way in my job." 

"Totally. I hope you won’t be offended, but I’m glad I don’t have your job," Darcy said. 

"I’m glad you don’t want to, it’s perhaps not a life I would have picked, had I the choice. However, good has come from it even if that’s difficult to see," Natasha said. 

"Even so, you’ve done an amazing job so far," Pepper said. "Happy is still rather put out that you dealt with way more guys than he did."

"He did his best, but he’s not a regularly trained fighter. He is, however, going through SHIELD training. He asked Tony to contact us so that he could improve himself. Apparently he fancies his chances in beating me next time," Natasha said, sipping her drink with amusement in her expression. "Can’t fault a guy for trying, I think it will do him good. Since he’s a little out of depth now Iron Man can protect himself, I think Tony wants to assign him to you, Pepper." 

"Yeah, I heard a whisper. To be honest, I want to learn to fight. Being Tony’s girlfriend…I know I might become a target, and I don’t want to become a damsel in distress," Pepper said. 

"Kickass girlfriend of Tony Stark, coming up!" Darcy whooped. "Maybe a lady warrior can teach you here."

"And I am more than happy to train you," Natasha nodded. "Perhaps we could all do with that, hm?" 

"Yeah, yeah. I’ll get there eventually. It’s just really haaard," Darcy said with a groan. "Maybe I’ll ask Loki, Frigga says he’s a great teacher, though whether the current Loki is, is another matter. Bah. Ladies’ night, who cares?"

"More drinks!" Pepper said, getting up and going over to buy another round. 

 


End file.
